Pure Blood
by lightpathetic
Summary: This is an AU fic - was intended to be crack but the road to hell has been well paved by now... Anyway, Kaname has a rock band named "Pure Blood" and Zero is caught in his web. U.S. pop culture references abound as well as the VERY mature stuff... KxZ
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_by lightpathetic_

**ZERO** rolled over in the bed and stretched, the crisp "swish" sound of the sheets noticeable as he did so. Such luxury. He must be dreaming, he thought, as he noted the way the fabric soothingly complemented his skin. He didn't have such things in his one-room studio apartment in Tokyo...

Zero sat up quickly and looked around, knowing what he would see but hoping against hope that he would be wrong. His stomach fell as his eyes took in the rich trappings of the five star hotel penthouse suite: the silk hangings from the four-poster bed, the plush cream carpet and "antique" furnishings. He couldn't have been that drunk. He couldn't have been. But how else would he explain what had happened?

**KANAME** leant on the balcony rail overlooking the vibrant city below him. He absently watched the lights on the buildings and the bustling cars and humanity below knowing he had no place with any of them. Depending on his mood he relished the slight advantage he felt, or he cursed it, his loneliness sometimes more than he could handle. No-one else knew what he was. They thought he was just a beautiful rock musician with eccentric tendencies. The way he kept to himself only increased his mystery and the way he only ventured out at night only pissed off his agent who had to smooth it over with the record company executives...

"Ken?"

Kaname already knew that the kid had woken up a few minutes before but had done nothing. He didn't know why he was hesitating. The kid had no family. They had been tragically killed years ago when he was child. He had one brother he was estranged from and he worked a dead-end bar-tending job in a club Kaname had happened into several weeks ago with his entourage to celebrate a huge recording contract with an equally huge American company. "Pure Blood" was going global and his team was going with him.

The kid had spilled a drink "by accident" on one of his managers who had shouted verbal abuse at him over some trivial nonsense. The boy was serving their private table and had stood up to him even though Itsuki was probably three times his size, his eyes unwavering as if daring Itsuki to hit him so he could kill him. Kaname remembered the thrill he'd felt as he'd seen the familiar, murderous glint in his eyes. The kid was crazy. And when that cold, grey stare was directed him after Kaname had told Itsuki to sit down and shut up, as if he were a bug to be squashed under his shoe, Kaname knew he had to have him...

"I'm on the balcony."

He seemed calm. Kaname guessed he hadn't realised what had happened to him as yet.

Zero stepped out onto the small terrace and took in the view of the city and of the dark beauty before him. Ken really was exceptionally beautiful. His fine, perfect features and lithe form would make him attractive to anyone, Zero told himself as he ventured further onto the balcony. Maybe he would live down making love to a man if he told himself he was drunk and it was a rock star. He was sure Ken wouldn't mention a word to anyone...

"Well this is awkward. Why don't I just leave and we can pretend this never happened? I know I am game..."

"What do you think happened?"

Kaname turned to look the striking youth in the eye, his tousled silver-grey hair was practically gilded by the lights of the city. As he waited for the answer to his question though his eyes wandered admiringly the length of the boy. The faint scars on his arms and torso were gone leaving nothing but smooth, pale skin. But he came back to the youth's remarkable, expressive eyes. Kaname again felt a thrill but this time in excitement about his new… acquisition…

Zero frowned. Maybe this was a game the rich and famous played with the "unfortunates". Wasn't it obvious? He'd awoke in bed naked after seeing a decidedly tipsy Ken home to his suite - the musician having followed him when he was leaving after his shift for some reason, having sent his party home, and fallen over in front of him - and after having been persuaded to have a night cap that was swiftly followed by another. The last thing he remembered was Ken nibbling on his neck and his feeling light-headed… Dear heaven…

"As I said: it never happened," Zero emphasized, grinding his teeth as if punishing the impulse that brought him here in the first place, "I'll go get dressed."

Zero turned to exit the balcony but the door slammed shut in front of him. After a moment's puzzlement he tried the handle only to realise they were locked out.

"Dammit!! The door's locked! We're stranded out here!"

Kaname stood with his arms folded and calmly watched the youth struggle with door. Eventually he would stop. He had already noticed that his bite mark had healed. But he had known that would happen when the youth didn't die from his bite. The night before...

Zero stopped fighting with the door and looked around for something to break the glass. He lifted the plant-pot to his right and swung, only to have it whipped away from his hands before he hit the glass. Zero spun and stared at the hovering pot and then at the quietly amused man who leaned casually against the railing watching Zero's efforts. Why hadn't he realised? Ken hadn't been in the least worried about being locked out. And… was that pot… _flying?_

"This... this is all very funny. But the joke's over. My girlfriend knows where I am and she's the type to call the police if I am late for dinner..."

"Don't lie," Kaname said softly, "lowering" the pot to its place beside the door. "I know you live alone. I know you have no family. At least, no-one that cares about you. You just moved to the city and have few acquaintances and even fewer friends. Only that waitress at the club and your boss will miss you when you are gone."

"What...? You were spying on me?"

"Not spying. Just observing. I have to be careful when I choose... my prey."

"What?!" Did the man just say _"prey"_?!

Kaname stayed silent, knowing Zero had heard him. Why was he doing this? He should have killed him. Sometimes he felt the urge to play with his victims, but he usually quelled it. It was enough he had to hunt to live. Had to kill to survive. Normally he just satisfied his urges – in the bathroom so that the violent evidence could be washed away easily – and went on with his life. He would pick people he thought society could do without – hardened criminals, abusers, people who pissed him off... But he had never picked anyone like this. Someone who had impressed him. Why did he this time? Why did he spare his life?

"Okay, I mean it! Open this door or I am pressing charges, you psycho! I don't care who you are...!"

"You should care. After all, I took your life as you know it."

Zero stood staring at the calmly gazing lunatic with a look of incredulity so hilarious only the situation saved them both from laughing. Zero was being held prisoner by this madman who said he was "prey" and who leaned against the railing as if he was discussing the ambient atmosphere, quite ignoring Zero rising anger, hysteria or both.

Kaname looked away towards the bustling town and sighed. It _would_ be easier to kill him. Another long meal and the boy would fade into obscurity. But as Kaname watched the traffic and the laughing people and groups and families... he realised why he had spared this kid's life. Why he had chosen to take it...

"Let me out now or I am throwing you over! Don't think I won't do it!"

Kaname's eyes widened as he looked into the grey ones filled with disgust and anger, but not raising a finger to stop him from squeezing his neck. Zero tightened his grip and pushed the other man further over the railing.

"Go ahead. Push," Kaname encouraged, calmly.

"You are crazy! Is that it? You want to die?! Fine! Just leave me out of it! Let me go!!"

"Do it. Throw me over. It is the only way you will leave here alive."

"What?"

"Do it!"

Kaname's breathing increased despite himself. He watched the youth's eyes almost hopefully. There was the look again. He _could_ try to kill him as if he were nothing. He wondered if he would… But…!

Zero pushed the dark-haired man further out and then released him. He didn't fall. Zero wasn't a killer. _He_ _wasn't, dammit! _He tore himself away and kicked the door, breaking the heavy wooden structure easily. He grabbed his clothes and ran down the stairs to the living-room, heading for the door. This was the last time he went anywhere with a stranger. You would think you would be safe with a celebrity. He was so naive.

"Sit down."

Zero paused mid stride, only for a moment, as the other man seemed to appear before him. But it could only be more tricks. He bounded at him and punched him hard in that perfect nose before going to knee him in the groin. Ken's head turn slightly to the left from the punch as he swiftly and easily blocked the blow to his jewels. Zero noticed the brunette's upper lip had split and then, it wasn't...

"Dear God..."

"My turn."

Zero found himself airborne, flying back towards the far wall. He crashed into it with an unholy "thud" the slithered to the floor. He fell dazed, but not unconscious. He struggled to sit up but soon a weight was on top of him.

"You bastard! What are you?!" Zero asked, still struggling with the thing he realised wasn't exactly like any other man he had seen before. Zero hadn't even felt a punch. He could move things without touching them and he was inhumanly fast. Inhumanly...

"Now you want to listen?" Kaname seethed, pissed that this pathetic creature had drawn blood from him, but subconsciously pleased at how alive he felt. He liked that there was another like him in the world, even one that he had made. He tried never to do this. He didn't want to curse anyone else to this existence. It was lonely and harsh. But when he had seen Zero's eyes that night, he felt like there was something inside him that would be a complement to himself. Maybe, if he had someone, it would be more bearable…

Kaname released Zero and stood, wiping his own face and licking the blood from his hand. He walked over to the bar and poured a drink for Zero and removed a chocolate bar for himself. He tried not to think of his own desperate reasons for doing this. Zero would be much better off like this. His life was going no-where except destined for another unremarkable human existence. He could see the beginning of something exceptional he could nourish before it was drowned in the mundane.

Kaname turned back to see Zero standing watching him warily, still looking for an escape, not quite seeing the futility. Kaname smiled at his hope, offering him the drink, which he took and sipped politely. He stood and waited.

"Please sit down."

"No. Thank you."

Kaname felt the pull of Zero's burgeoning vampire make-up but resisted the urge to use it against him. It had been so long since he had felt that pull, that call, to one like himself. His eyes closed as he relished it...

"Listen, Ken..."

"Yes?"

"You seem lonely. Why don't I call someone for you? Your manager...?"

Kaname sighed and took a seat himself. He watched the wary boy for a while deciding how to say this.

"Zero, I am a vampire."

Zero dropped his drink on the table and headed for the door again. The hell he was going to stay with this freak...

Kaname pulled at the gooey centre of the bar he was eating and watched as Zero came back to sit down. It felt so good to do that. He hadn't been able to do that in so long.

"Listen to me. I am a vampire and now, you are one as well. We didn't have sex. I bit you and you changed. It is rare for this to happen. One in fifty people survive my bite and you are one of those people..."

"A vampire?! Are you on drugs?" Zero finally managed as he realised he could speak again. What had happened? Was his drink drugged? "Do you actually believe the shit you compose?"

"I thought you didn't listen to my music."

"I don't. You weren't the only one 'observing'."

Zero had looked him up after Ken had started frequenting the club. Zero was requested for the table even after the debacle with one of his henchmen and had been the recipient of some substantial tips. The boss was happy – they'd almost drink the bar dry themselves – and Zero thought the least he could do was find out what they were on about. He found the music online and listened for only a few minutes. It seemed too depressing and contrived for his tastes.

"Touché."

"What do you want?"

Kaname paused, still playing leisurely with the caramel, and then looked Zero in the eye.

"You."

"No. Fucking. Way."

Kaname sighed again. He supposed it wouldn't have been easy. He would have been disappointed if it had been. But still, a part of him had hoped Zero would have jumped at the chance or at least have been intrigued. What else did he have to live for?

"Soon your body is going to demonstrate what you are and when it does I want you to call me," Kaname said rising to get a card from his desk. "I am going to be busy with touring and other things but this number will always get me..."

Zero took the card, crushed it, and threw it to the ground.

"If what you say is true, do you think I would call you for support? If anything I would hunt you down and kill you..." Zero spat, his exquisite grey eyes almost mesmerising as they flashed in anger.

"Good. I want you to come to me. I want you with me."

"Go to hell."

Kaname laughed at this and took another card. He scooped up Zero's clothes and brought them to him, helping him to get dressed. It would be interesting to see if this bird would come back to him. If not, Kaname didn't think he would have to look very far to find him again.

"Take the card. It will make it easier to hunt me when it does happen. You are not a killer. I realise that now. You will need help." Still, Kaname thought, still he wanted this kid...

"What is going to happen? How will I...?" Zero asked as he was ushered to the door, the irony hitting him now as he realised he wanted answers where before all he had wanted to do was leave.

"You'll see," Kaname answered, pushing Zero out into the corridor and closing the door.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They are from "Vampire Knight"._

_This started out as a crack fic for fun and then it ended up much weirder. This story is not associated with Anne Rice and her novels in any way - please don't sue me._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_by lightpathetic_

"Zero-kun!"

Zero barely dodged an exuberant patron before he was pummelled in the gut by the petit brunette.

"Yuuki-ch..."

"Don't you try to sweet talk me! Where have you been? You haven't been to work in days. Chou has been asking me about you. I don't even have your phone number."

"I'm sorry Yuuki-chan. I meant to get one..."

"You don't have a cell-phone?! Everybody has a cell-phone! What happened? I can't tell you how pissed Chou is. Especially after "Pure Blood-san" came in and asked for you then left when Chou recommended someone else. He was standing there looking like he would cry..."

"Ken came here?"

"Yes! You missed out on... Where are you going?!"

Zero headed into the club towards the back office. He didn't even know why Ken came back. He never thought that he would have the audacity to show his face here after what he had done. What he had said. Zero had only just woken up after sleeping for days. The first thing he had done was down every conceivable thing in his refrigerator and then came here, afraid he was out of a job. If that drug Ken had given him had lost him his job he would lose his mind! Tokyo was expensive.

"Chou-san!"

"Ah! Kiriyuu-san. Glad you could grace us with your presence..."

"I am very sorry, Chou-san. I had something that didn't agree with me and was horribly sick. I couldn't call..."

"That's alright. No harm done. Ken explained it all to me. He said he went by and checked on you after I told him you were not at work. I had no idea you two were such friends..."

"What... what are you talking about?"

"Ken? He said that you were ill and begged me to understand. Begged!! I can't very well fire you now..."

"When did he...?"

"A few hours ago. Until then I was ready to kick your ass into Kyoto. Do you know how much money you had cost me? However Ken promised to come by tonight and spend even more money. Are you feeling okay? Can I get you some juice?"

"Look Chou... It's like this..."

"Yuuki! Stop gawking and go wait the tables! Don't think I don't see you!! Yes, Kiriyuu-san?"

"Ken kidnapped me and drugged me..."

"Uh-huh."

"He's not what you think he is..."

"Uh-huh."

"I don't feel comfortable serving him anymore..."

"He said you would say that. But he made me understand that it would be very unfortunate if you continued to feel this way, considering how much he really likes you. He would find no point in continuing affiliations with the club and, he said, he would let his friends know his disappointment. He says, unlike you, he has many, many friends. Do you know, because of him, this club was mentioned in "People" magazine? Twice?"

"That is blackmail, Chou..."

"No. It is business. The customer wants something and it is either I can deliver or I can't. Which is it to be, Kiriyuu-san? Are you working here or not? Please bear in mind, I too have many, many friends."

"**ZERO!!** Another beer!!"

"Zero!"

Zero ran quickly around the hoard, offering drinks and picking up empties. The throng seemed even larger tonight but Zero managed, even as the prick in the centre of it all insisted he wanted no-one else to serve his "party".

"Zero!"

"Zero-kun, are you okay?"

"Yuuki-chan..."

Zero paused and smiled at her. She was extremely capable at her job even though every thing looked too much for her to handle. She had her own fan-club and some of Ken's entourage did wonder why he insisted on the dour bar-tender instead of the hot waitress but they never argued too long with him. If that's how Ken rocked his marbles, fine. The drinks were free.

"Zero!!"

"Yes, I am okay," Zero replied ignoring the ruffians behind him, "You know how it is."

"Yes. Are you doing anything after work? There's something I wanted to give you..."

"Really? Not more of those bran muffins you gave me for my birthday?" Not even the bugs in his apartment touched those...

"Those were brownies. Chocolate chip brown... Oh never mind, if I could cook I wouldn't be waitressing. Actually it's a surprise. I know you are new here in town and you don't know anyone..."

"_Zero. You are needed over here."_

Zero froze. How...? That voice sounded so close yet he could have sworn it was whispered. His body turned almost on its own volition. He looked around but... there was no-one...

"Zero?! Are you...?"

"I'll see you... later, Yuuki. I've... got to go now."

"Okay!" Yuuki replied, smiling, thinking she had gotten her answer, "After work then!"

Kaname watched this exchange with a slight irritation that surprised him. His eyes followed Zero with a proprietary edge to his demeanour as he returned to their table. Only the ones closest to him noticed how tense he had become. They looked at him with concern and then trained their eyes on Zero searching for what could have made him angry and hoping to correct it before his temper flared. Weird things tended to happen when Ken got angry...

"Hey waiter!! Get Ken another drink!!"

"No. Tell him to come to me."

The manager nearest him beckoned Zero over and he came, reluctantly.

"Yes, Ken-san?" If Zero had known Ken family name he would have used it but he only went by "Ken".

Suddenly the club and the noise seemed to die down and it felt like only Ken and Zero were the only ones moving. Zero's eyes widened in surprise at this but he was transfixed by Ken's eyes. They were... red and his teeth seemed to poke through his lips...

"_You belong to me, Zero. I won't tolerate you looking at anyone else."_

Zero shuddered and the world seemed to right itself again.

"Zero!! Come on! The drinks!"

Zero was still struck by what he saw. Did he...? Did he just become a vampire? Ken was looking away from him, but he could have sworn...

Zero dropped the drinks and broke the tray he was holding. Using a large splinter he raised his hand in the air and aimed for Ken's heart.

"**THERE**! You ought to feel better now!" Ken exclaimed as he pushed Zero's head under the water in the bathroom sink, despite Zero's attempts to break free. Kaname already had him "holding" to stop him from screaming "Vampire!" over and over. Really the kid was too much...

"Ken, you really shouldn't be near him. He tried to..."

"It was just a joke. I'm afraid I taunted him a little bit and he lost his temper. I was never in any real danger from that tiny piece of wood."

"But still, Ken..."

"Please excuse us. I just want to talk to my friend in private..."

"Your friend?" One manager repeated as if Kaname had said Zero was his mother. But Kaname insisted. Firmly.

"Yes. Now please leave."

After quite a few minutes, during which Zero lay sputtering under the freezing tap, the bathroom emptied to leave only Kaname and Zero. Kaname pulled the boy from under the tap and "released" him.

"...You...!!" Zero gasped and backed away, choking as he coughed.

"Please. You won't die from such a little bit of water. Not anymore. You need a direct strike to your heart or the removal of your head. But maybe you knew this on some level. I would have been quite annoyed if you had succeeded at your little joke."

"...Stop. Your voice..."

"Yes. Your body knows I'm your master. Your mind is a different matter. It's a pity. I want your mind as well. Shutting you down doesn't appeal to me."

"...Insane."

Kaname looked at the door, knowing his people were just outside listening but he was talking quite softly to Zero so he was sure they wouldn't hear. Zero was learning that he was hypersensitive to his voice. And Kaname was learning that he was having a hard time staying away from his little charge.

"I had promised you. That I would let you mature first and a find me. It's just... it's just that it has been too long without this connection. Without someone else knowing. Even if you hate me for it, I feel so much... better knowing you know what I am and that you are one as well."

Kaname walked over to the prone bar-tender and knelt pulling his face up to meet his.

"Even if you don't feel it now, you should know it is not so bad. Once you get over needing blood to survive you will find power and health and longevity beyond your wildest dreams. You could look at it as a gift I am giving you or you could look at it as a curse. But before you decide, come to me." Kaname whispered almost... begging...

Kaname unbuttoned his cuff and drew a line along his wrist with a claw. It stung but only for a few seconds. But it had the desired effect. Even in such a young state, Zero's eyes flared in interest at the smell of blood. Kaname smiled almost adoringly.

"This is just a taste. It will stop the... "problems" you are having with my voice. For more you will have to come find me."

Kaname pressed his wrist to Zero's mouth and forced the youth to lap up his blood even as the skin had already healed. Zero balked at the thought but found that the taste was not entirely unpleasant. His teeth raked at Kaname's wrist...

"No! Not yet. Only when I know I can trust you."

Kaname stood and buttoned his cuffed, not bothering to wash his wrist. He wanted Zero's scent to linger...

"You'll be happy to hear that I am leaving for the U.S. tomorrow for five months." Kaname chuckled at the thought of doing an English album. He wondered if his songs would really translate well. "You would have been able to fight your 'vampiric' urges for a long time but not after you have tasted blood. You'll be after what you need shortly and I'll be waiting."

Kaname walked towards the door and "pulled"... then turned back.

"Oh hell. I can't resist..."

Kaname knelt next to Zero again and impatiently pulled away his collar and tie. Holding Zero still he began to lick his neck in preparation. All evening, everyone else had been getting what they wanted to drink, while what he yearned for stood tantalizingly close by. Now it was his turn.

Zero realised what he was doing and began to struggle but Kaname was too strong. He sank his teeth into Zero's still tender neck...

Zero stopped fighting as a strange sensation suffused him. Kaname drew on his blood, was drawing on his life's resource and yet, it seemed... right. Yet, it made his body hum in a sort of mellow pleasure. Zero whimpered at the paradox. It was as if some evil had been invited into his life and had stolen his sanity. He wished he had never moved to Tokyo. He wished he hadn't fallen out with his brother. He wished he had done more to save his parents. He wished... Maybe all his sins would culminate here on the floor of the public toilets in a Tokyo club. A fitting summation of his life...

Kaname forced himself to stop and lifted his head. What was it about this boy's blood? No more. Be patient. Soon, it would be offered freely.

"Come on. Get up. You need to see to us and then we will be gone from your life. Come on. I didn't drink that much."

Kaname pushed himself up to stand and Zero finally found his voice, especially since he was going to survive yet again...

"How can you live with yourself?! Can't you see the filthy creature that you are? How dare you make me like this without asking me? I would rather die than be like you!"

Kaname stood and walked to the door, ignoring the tearful youth and his words. It was all to be expected. Acceptance was one of the final steps in Zero's long journey.

"Until we meet again, Zero Kiriyuu. Don't keep me waiting too long."

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They are from "Vampire Knight"._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_by lightpathetic_

"**OH MY GOD**, Kenny! I think it is so hot! I Love, Love, LOVE this!"

Kaname winced as a hand slapped him hard on his back and then hooked around his neck. Not from the pain of the action, but more from the need to control yet another violent reaction towards this guy. His producer in America, Kaien Cross of Golden Reign Records, was overly exuberant and superficial – Kaname's ears spotted his fake west-coast accent at once - but he was very good at what he did. The album was listenable. Kaname's effort and tolerance had paid off.

"I am glad to hear this, Kaien-san," Kaname said in perfect English, with just a hint of a Japanese accent so it wasn't too suspicious, while pointedly looking at Cross' arm to give him a polite hint to let go of him.

"Will you stop that? So formal! Please call me Kaien, Kenny. We're going to be long and profitable business partners. This album is going straight to the top. Make sure you mention it on Letterman... today," Kaien said, just stifling a yawn. It was four o'clock in the morning and he had been up all day. It had taken some getting used to accommodating Ken's bad habits but he did it. At first he had resisted, insisting Ken work during the day like normal people. But then he had met him and something made him want to respect his wishes...

"Of course. Your PR department is exceptional. I have been on every major network and the American public hardly knew me..."

"Well, it helps to be stunning and mysterious, I guess. That seriously creepy 'vampire' vibe you give off has my department swamped in teen fan-mail already. Everyone is panting to listen to whatever you produce! It is just icing on the cake that it is actually good!"

"Thank you," Kaname replied dryly, finally moving to get away from the man's arm. Kaien wasn't intimidated by him, much to Kaname's chagrin. Normally a look would make people back off, but this guy was either too stupid or didn't care. Either way, it pissed Kaname off and he had been seriously contemplating making him a snack except that, for all his sins, he was basically a good sort. Kaname decided to make him an exception.

"Alright! Well unless there is anything else..." Kaien started wanting to be off home for a little shut eye before he had to deal with his daytime clients in a few hours.

"Yes. After Letterman I want to go home for a little while. I have some business to attend to..."

"Home? To Japan? But the launch is in two weeks...!"

"I know. I only require one. I'll be back in time..."

"And I finally talked Oprah into a midnight taping just to please you..."

"Kaien-san..." Kaname began, trying to stay calm. It may have sounded like a request but it wasn't. He intended to go home tonight. His ticket had been bought and he was already packed. He just wanted to be professional and give notice. It had been six months in America and Zero hadn't even called. Kaname felt the rising panic though he refused to call it that. But he was worried and he... needed to check on him. He was also very hungry…

"Call her office and let her know I'll be back in time. Heavens knows I don't want to anger Oprah."

"You know it," Kaien responded, sighing in relief. Kaname had actually scared him there. That woman could put a serious spanner in anyone's works. She was that powerful...

Kaname nodded and headed for the door.

"Wait! What business is that? Do you have family? You never mentioned..."

"No, I've never mentioned it," Kaname snapped, continuing towards the door, not intending to explain, but the damnedest thing happened. He paused at the door and looked back at the man that had flushed at Kaname's harsh tone. "...But yes, it is family business. Someone I have to check up on. I'll see you."

Kaname turned and left quickly, ignoring the warmth that statement brought, simply because finally for him, it held a kernel of truth.

"**ZERO!** Zero, are you alright?"

Zero removed his head from the sink and answered, trying to stay calm, sound normal...

"Yes. I'll be out in a little while..."

Zero returned his head to the water, soaking for a while longer. Eventually he lifted his head and peered into the mirror. Maybe he was pregnant. He had heard about that. People thinking they were all male and then it turns out they have a tiny uterus and had been born with both male and female parts... Zero hit his head on the mirror. Idiot... His straw catching has hit a new low. He was losing his appetite for food and was salivating over Yuuki like a wolf. His gums kept itching around her and he found himself fantasizing about how her blood would taste. But he had ignored it. Or at least tried to. There were a few chest pains but they were nothing compared to what would be involved in stopping them, who he would have to hurt. He found Advil worked a little…

"Zero?"

"Coming Yuuki!"

Zero sighed and peered into the glass hoping the red was now gone. That had been the latest catastrophe. He had been kissing his girl-friend and had bitten her lip by accident. Then it had become deliberate…

"Shit! Not again!" Zero cried as his body reacted to the memory of her taste. Now he knew why she smelled so good to him.

"I'm okay, you know! You don't have to be so sensitive. Actually it is quite a turn-on that you like to bite…"

"Yuuki, shut up… about the biting." Zero pleaded. He looked at the bathroom window, wondering if he could fit through. He felt like if he saw her again things could get ugly…

"Zero, this is silly! I am coming i…!"

Zero dashed behind the shower curtain in anticipation of Yuuki's stalking in and ordering him out of her bathroom. He stood cowering for a second or two before he realised she wasn't coming in . In fact he realised a whole lot more. Like how quiet it was…

"Yuuki?"

Zero suddenly was filled with a dread so intense… He ran out of the bathroom, just in time to see Yuuki fall onto the couch as a dark figure released her. Zero's eyes widened in horror.

"Noooooo!"

Zero ran towards her kneeling on the floor to listen to her heart.

"She's alive. For now," came the deep drawl.

Zero looked up at the cold, handsome face and screamed as if reason was gone. He jumped up and tackled him, shoving him violently into the wall.

"You bastard! If you did anything to her I'll kill you!"

Kaname stood there calmly looking into Zero's wild eyes, relishing just this reaction. He wanted him to feel real pain. It had taken him three days to track him down. He had moved from his apartment and had left his job at the club. Kaname had been… very concerned that he had done something foolish. Until, on a hunch he had decided to follow this girl home to her apartment. She still worked at the club. Imagine his surprise when Zero had opened the door for her…

"You live with her. You chose her…"

"What the hell are you on about? What have you done to her? Answer me!"

"I waited for you and this is what you were doing."

"What…?" Zero blew in frustration, his eyes almost delirious in his worry. He pushed away the expressionless animal in disgust and returned to Yuuki. He picked her up trying to check her vitals. He inspected her neck for bites. He couldn't handle it if he had done the same thing to her.

"Yuuki! Yuuki wake up!"

Kaname watched him, still standing by the wall where Zero had left him. He felt a cold rage inside of him beginning to build. He had been checking his phone each day for months for just one call. He had been worried sick when he had found his apartment occupied by someone else. Only to find him here. Shacked up with this human girl. This girl…

"Is she your prey? Is that it? Do you use her for blood?"

Zero ignored him. He placed her in the chair and went to search for her coat. He would take her to a hospital. He couldn't see any bites but he couldn't wake her. He tried to stay calm. He didn't want to make a mistake. Maybe it was a drug.

"It alright Yuuki. You'll be okay…"

"Zero, put her down and talk to me…"

"Not right now. I am taking her to a doctor…"

"Go ahead. But she will stay like that until I wake her. Allow me to demonstrate…"

Yuuki open her eyes and sat up in the chair. She looked around confused as if she had just dozed off.

"Zero, I'm sorry. I guess work tired me… Oh my God! Ken!" Yuuki jumped to her feet and ran over to him, "It's you isn't it? Oh my God! I saw you on Letterman! You were so funny! What are you doing back in Japan? Aren't you launching an album over there?"

Kaname heard all of this but ignored her as if she were a fly buzzing around him. He only had eyes for Zero. Zero's eyes were filled with relief as he saw that Yuuki was fine then he looked into Kaname's eyes. Kaname held them for a moment then looked down at Yuuki. Suddenly she flew back against the wall and was pinned there. Her eyes widened in horror. She pushed against the wall to free herself, wondering if it was some sort of glue.

"What? What is this?"

"Ken! Stop it!"

Zero looked from Yuuki to Kaname and flew at Kaname, trying to knock him down. Kaname sidestepped quickly and grabbed Zero's shirt with one hand pushing him up against the wall so hard he was winded for a few seconds.

"Zero!" Yuuki screamed.

"I told you I would not tolerate your looking at anyone but me. I warned you but you would not listen. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson."

Yuuki began to drift towards the open window. She screamed again lustily. Zero pulled at Kaname's arm but he was effectively pinned.

"No! Ken! Stop this! She has done nothing to you! This is my fault! Please...."

"You are begging me for her life. She means that much to you? This girl?"

Kaname asked this calmly, coldly but his eyes told a different story. Zero realised this as soon as he looked away from Yuuki and into Kaname's eyes. He was in pain. His eyes… Ken was hurting. Because of… him? Was that it? Ken hated the idea of Yuuki's being anything more to him than prey. He was jealous of her. Zero knew to answer "yes" would be to seal her fate.

"I am not a killer, Ken. You said so yourself, remember? I needed her for what she could give me. Don't kill her. It is pointless. I couldn't handle the death of such a friend. Do it as a favour to me. Please. I am sorry I hurt you. You were gone…"

Kaname dropped Zero and turned away. Yuuki too came to sit on the couch then fell unconscious again. This time Zero didn't panic. It was certainly better than the street below. He trained his eyes on the dark still figure in the room and watched warily as he gained his feet. He didn't go to Yuuki this time.

"I know you are saying what you think I want to hear. I am not stupid. You realised my weakness was you and you used it against me. I knew there was something about you…" Kaname took a deep breath and continued, "But you are lying. This girl means more to you than just a friend and a food source. In fact, I don't think you have even touched her. It would be a shame to not correct that. She could be your first kill…"

"No! You touch her…!" Zero yelled, charging forward. Kaname raised his hand to stop him.

"I was only playing with you. I know you don't want her dead. I am willing to honour your wish, but I want you to honour mine in return. You are to come with me. Now."

Zero hesitated. He stepped back and shook his head slowly as if dazed. Kaname steeled himself and pressed on.

"Your life or hers. That is the deal. Which is it to be? You know I won't hesitate, Zero. You know what I am."

Zero couldn't believe this. How could his life have been so severely turned on its head? He was making his way in this world like anyone else and this creature came and destroyed it. What right did it have to do this? What right did it have to steal his life from him? Zero's fists clenched as everything in him rebelled. Everything in him wanted to tell him to go to hell. If he was alone. If Yuuki was safe. If only he hadn't been so weak. He knew what he had become yet he still wanted a life… Now she was in danger.

"I'll go. I'll go with you. Just please…"

Kaname immediately headed to the door, barely sparing the apartment and its contents a second glance. He opened it and paused.

"Don't beg, Zero." Kaname said quietly, almost sadly. It seemed a sordid victory. Very unworthy of him. "You only have to ask and if it is within my power or will, you will receive it."

Kaname nodded towards Yuuki.

"For instance, I know without your asking that you need a moment with her. I'm parked on the street. Don't be long."

Kaname left and closed the door, leaving the two together for the last time. Zero watched as Yuuki blinked and opened her eyes sitting up quickly to look around her. Zero surreptitiously wiped a tear.

"Hey! Sleepyhead! About time you woke up."

"Zero! Gosh, I could have sworn… I had the craziest dream."

"Oh? You'll have to tell me about it later. I am going to the all night market for some bread and milk for dinner. Do you want anything?"

"Oh yes! Some cheese, tofu, meso and a few of those Pocky sticks. And while you are there…"

"I am not doing your grocery shopping, Yuuki. I know it's your turn this week."

Zero leaned in and kissed Yuuki on her forehead softly, lingering long enough to inhale her scent into his lungs one last time. He couldn't bring himself to properly kiss her.

"Goodbye."

Yuuki didn't reply, only looking up at Zero as he pulled away. It didn't feel like he was just going to the store. She reached out and pulled at his jacket.

"Zero…"

"I'll see you later, Yuuki."

Zero pulled his jacket away from her and left, closing the door firmly on the heavy knowledge that began to show in Yuuki's beautiful, brown eyes.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampire Knight"._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_by lightpathetic_

**ZERO** came downstairs and opened the security door to the sight of a long, black limousine parked just outside. _Shit_, he thought, _Yuuki would see this..._

The door opened and the dark figure disappeared inside as the door stood open, waiting. Zero walked up to it and stopped. He was seriously considering running down the street. He felt like if he got into the car he wouldn't be seen again. A low chuckle came from inside.

"If you want me to give chase to you, go ahead. I am already looking forward to it."

Zero frowned at how pathetically readable he must be and got in, resisting the urge to look up at Yuuki's window.

"You changed your mind. Pity."

"I don't know what you mean."

Kaname smiled at Zero's reticence.

"I know that you wanted to run for it. Just like I know you are thinking of a way to kill me. I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

The limousine pulled off into the traffic, just as Zero's brows raised in surprise. Kaname chuckled again.

"I should warn you though. I am extremely hard to kill. Ironic for how unsuccessful my species seems to be. Maybe I am still alive because of the fact there is no-one left that can kill me."

"Did you polish them all off then? If you did, you shouldn't be complaining."

Kaname turned away, the teasing smile dying from his lips.

"No, I didn't. Not all of them," Kaname answered, surprising himself again at his honesty. But he didn't elaborate. Sometimes it seemed like yesterday and not ages ago. It was still hard to talk about.

"What do you want?" Zero asked finally, disgusted with the polite small-talk. This man had just kidnapped him. "Why are you doing this? I don't understand what you find so fascinating about me! I barely finished secondary school. I work at a bar. I am no-one important. I am sure your world is filled with celebrities and people who would be happy to play this twisted game with you..."

"I only want you. You are different..."

"How? Goddammit!" Zero punched the door, breaking the handle, almost sobbing in his fury and frustration. He hated feeling this way. So impotent. Helpless. "How am I different? Don't tell me it's my hair...!"

"I don't know. I've asked myself that same thing. I've told myself those same things. I know almost as much about you as you do. On paper you are unremarkable, but in person, you draw me in. I feel like I know you..."

"What an original line. You are attracted to me? Is that what this is about? You want to fuck me? Well, come on, let's do this. Let's get it out of the way."

Zero removed his jacket and threw it on the seat across from them. He moved to straddle Kaname who seemed startled and mesmerised by the action. He felt Zero's hands in his hair and his mouth on his neck, nibbling, his sharp teeth teasing the length. Kaname moaned, his hands coming up to grip Zero's shoulders as his buried his face in Zero's neck. A tell-tale rush of adrenaline shot through him and he knew his body was preparing to...

Limousine rocked as Zero landed in the seat across from Kaname. He sat up, avoiding Kaname's eyes as the desperation of what he had tried to do dawned on him. He tugged his jacket from beneath him and held it to him, trying to compose himself. He didn't look at Ken but could tell he was looking out the window quietly as if determined to forget what just happened. So it wasn't so simple...

"I am drawn to you, but it isn't as simple as sex. I do find your blood and your body, extremely appetising. What you did just now was an invitation to devour you. And as 'hungry' as I am, it wasn't a good idea. I may have just saved your life."

"Are you going to kill me?" Zero whispered eventually, his misery complete as he finally realised what he was dealing with. Kaname looked away from the view of the Tokyo streets and straight at Zero.

"If I had wanted to I would have done so already, Zero. Try to relax. I have a surprise for you back at the hotel."

**KANAME** pushed open the door and let Zero inside first, "closing" it behind him. They had ridden the rest of the way in silence, which was easy on Zero but hard on Kaname whose one single thought was trying to keep his hands off Zero before he fed. He knew Zero was hungry by the way he looked. His complexion was sallow and his skin dry. Vampires didn't get like that unless they were in a very advanced state of deprivation. But Zero's surprise would take care of that.

"Is it expensive to stay here?" Zero asked, simply because.

"Yes. But I own the hotel. The charges go right back into my pocket, by various means..."

"Oh." Zero stood there and looked at Kaname and Kaname sighed. He looked lost and out of it. Hopeless. He knew it would take time for Zero to realise what he had but it still tortured Kaname how unhappy he was. Maybe he would feel better after he "ate".

"Come. In here." Kaname grabbed Zero's hand and lead him excitedly into the bathroom...

"Jesus."

Zero stopped at the door to large opulent bathroom, simply because he was beset by the extremely disturbing sight of a bound and gagged man sitting on a metal chair that was screwed into the hideously expensive marble tile on the floor. The man began to moan through the gag as he saw them, fighting again against his bonds as he probably had been doing since he got there as his skin was raw and bleeding where they touched it, marring the fine detail of the tattoos all over his body.

"Ken, what are you doing?" Zero asked vapidly, as if he was not quite sure he was awake.

"This is your surprise. I knew you would be hungry. I got him for you."

_He _got_ him for... _Zero backed away from the door.

"No way..." This was not happening.

"He is Yakuza. A particularly bad one at that. Look at all the tattoos."

"You would think you would feel some affinity for him. He's a killer, you're a killer..."

"I kill because it is what I was born to do. It is about survival. He does it for gain. _Don't_ insult me."

"I am NOT biting him!" Zero bellowed loudly, as if that would knock some sense into this clearly stark, raving insane individual.

"What is it? Do you prefer a female? I could get you one..." Kaname offered reasonably.

"No! Ken! Jesus Christ!" Zero turned away from the madman and threaded his hands in his hair. Was he actually suggesting he chomped on somebody? He couldn't do it. He couldn't...!

"Do you prefer the girl?"

"No! Leave her out of this!" Zero snapped, whipping back again to face Kaname. "You'd said...!"

"I know what I'd said. But you have to feed! You have to! This is what you are! A vampire! There is no going back. Eventually you will have to drink blood or you could..."

"Die?" Zero finished for him, hopefully, as Kaname stumbled.

"I am _not_ letting that happen. If I have to force you to drink, I will."

"I refuse to take part in any killing. I refuse! I _know_ you are going to kill him..."

"If I promise to spare his life will you drink?"

"But you are not going to! He has seen us!"

"I can fix that. Easily. He won't remember anything. Will you drink?"

Zero stopped, robbed of momentum. He looked at the man's tear stained face, his eyes begging him to... Christ, he could hear everything they were saying!_ I'm sorry. I can't even help myself...!_

"I can't. I... can't," Zero said turning away. How could he? Feeding on another person, it was truly disturbing.

Zero heard nothing for a long while. He turned around again only to see Kaname studying him closely.

"I don't think you are afraid for him. I think you are afraid for yourself. If you took this step it would mean you were like me. And you hate that. You hate me."

"Are you surprised? You monster...!"

Kaname disappeared and the next thing Zero heard was the screaming...

"Noo! Nooo!" Zero yelled running after him.

Kaname ignored Zero, "pushing" him away and dragging the man from the chair to the ground. He continued to drink greedily, his own pain finally subsiding as a type of euphoria took over. He shook his head to widen his teeth marks and more blood flowed, so much it gushed onto the floor. Then Kaname began to actively _tear_ at the flesh...

"No! Ken!" Zero screamed, horrified. But, still, he felt strange as he watched as the warm blood pooled. He backed away and ran out of the bathroom. His teeth... his body... Zero fell to the floor, his chest cramping painfully... Zero groaned, trying not to gag, trying not to think of what his body obviously needed.

Suddenly a blood soaked demon with red eyes stood in front of him.

"Look at you. It seems your body is yearning for a bit more than just your humanity."

"Stay... away from me." Dammit, he smelled... good...

Kaname laughed. He reached down and grabbed Zero to him.

"Perhaps this is more to your sensibilities. As a parent to a child..."

Before Zero knew it he was on the bed and his head trapped in Kaname's blood stained hands. Kaname pressed his mouth to Zero's.

"No!" Zero started to struggle.

"Yes." Kaname stilled him.

But it wasn't a kiss. Zero found that his mouth was being filled with blood. Lots of it. He fought, but...

Kaname moaned as Zero's hands found his hair, as he began to drink and suck at his mouth. It was... exotic and breathtaking, the feeling of his greedy charge demanding blood from him like this. Zero's tongue lapped at him in a desperate plea for more and he shuddered, trying to please him, giving all he had. Kaname leaned over him, cradling Zero carefully, preciously, spellbound by what was happening. But soon he had no more and they both felt grief as the spell was broken. Zero pulled away and licked his lips, his unconscious look of disappointment searing Kaname to his soul.

"Wait!" Kaname breathed. "I'll get more."

"I..."

"Don't move."

Kaname disappeared and returned, immediately pressing his lips to Zero's again. He teased him a little, chuckling as he clenched his teeth, making Zero moan in protest, his questing tongue rubbing his sensitive gums, his hands pulling Kaname's hair as he forgot himself in his frenzy. Kaname soon gave in though and allowed Zero to feed, feeling him tremble as his body began to absorb what it needed. Zero went limp eventually beneath him, his demeanour one of a person on an incredible rush he was fighting tooth and nail.

"Shhh. It's alright. Your body is repairing itself. Just relax and go to sleep. I'm here. You are safe," Kaname soothed, stroking his hair gently, as Zero lost his fight to stay awake. "I think we'll do it this way, then," Kaname whispered tenderly, "until you are ready to do it on your own. Sweet dreams." Soon Zero was asleep in Kaname's arms.

**ZERO** opened his eyes and sat up quickly as last night's events came back to him. He looked around, trying to find Kaname in the gloom but he was no-where to be seen. Zero began to think again of escape. Then his bladder called.

He scrambled to the edge of the huge bed and padded to the bathroom. Sure he wanted to "go" but he was equally curious as to whether the corpse was still in there. He almost tip-toed as he walked slowly to the door and turned the knob, pushing it open...

"It's gone."

Zero gasped and nearly hit his head on the door-jam as a voice issued from just behind him.

"I don't keep corpses lying around too long, even when I don't have guests. Sorry to startle you. I came up as soon as I heard you move around..."

"What did you do with him?" Zero asked when he finally found his composure, turning to his left to see the black silk pyjama-clad vampire. He looked so normal. So normal for what he was...

"You want details? When I am finished with it, I break it up into piec..."

"No. Never mind."

"I thought so. You look much better. How do you feel?"

Zero ignored him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. He did feel great, though. His body felt a hundred times lighter than it did yesterday. Well, except for his bladder.

"Excuse me."

Kaname smiled and turned away as the door closed in his face. Zero stayed by the door for a while then forced himself to walk around the steel screw sockets in the tile to head for the head, as it were.

"I thought I would wait to order breakfast," came Ken's voice through the door. "So I could take your order..."

"I don't eat breakfast. I just go straight in to work. What time is it?" Zero asked, automatically getting into his routine. It didn't occur to him that he should not continue his life as normal. Suddenly he was filled with normal everyday worries like whether he would be late and what he should order when he got there. If Suki was coming in...

"Well, there must be something you would like?"

Zero frowned as his more pertinent question went unanswered. He finished and opened the door immediately looking for his jacket. His cell-phone was in there.

"I have got to run!"

"Run where?"

"I have work in an hour! It takes that long to get uptown...!"

"You are going to work?"

Was the man stupid? Zero ignored him and searched for his shirts... and slapped his head. He had nothing to wear. His one shirt had... bloodstains. He hadn't packed anything at Yuuki's.

"May I borrow a shirt?"

"You may have several. But not to go to 'work' in. That part of your life is over."

"What?" Zero was hardly paying attention. This would be the third time this week he would be late. His boss will have a cow...

"The work you will be doing, if you do work, will be for me."

"Bullshit. Are you serious?"

Kaname looked at his with his usual enigmatic expression as an answer. Of course he was serious. As far as he was concerned Zero was his. He would take care of him. If he wanted money, he could get him _money._

"No way! I am not living off you. I have been independent since I was thirteen...!"

"I will give you a salary then, if it makes you feel better. Why don't you give yourself a title? How about personal assistant?"

"No. I like bar-tending. I paid for a course..."

"Fine. You can be in charge of my drinks. It can get complicated especially before a live concert. If you think Mariah Carey is bad..."

"No! I am not going to take money to just hang around you! It's bad enough..."

"What? That I took your life? That I made you a vampire? Why do you want to be a human so badly? So you could rush to work every day to barely make the rent until you die in a few years...!"

"It's called freedom! It's called independence!"

"You don't have that anymore! Get that through your skull! My God! Can't you take you head out of your high and mighty ass and see what I am offering you? I will pay you to not go slaving away for other people every day for next to nothing! I will pay you to let me take care of you! I was going to give you these over a nice breakfast but... God! You make me so angry! Our plane is leaving in three hours. I have to be back in the U.S. for an important engagement. I don't care what you do in that time but be back here ready to leave in two hours or I will hunt you down and kill everyone around you that made you late. Is that clear?"

Kaname threw an envelope on the bed and disappeared, the door slamming shut hard enough to shake the room. Zero wandered over and sat on the bed, his head between his knees, taking deeps breaths. Something had made him violently scared and breathless during Ken's tirade. He was still shaking. He ran his fingers through his hair and fell back on the bed, ignoring some other dried bloodstains. The envelope crinkled beneath him. He reached under his back and pulled it free, still debating whether to look inside. But the passport fell out...

"My God! There must be five hundred thousand yen in here!" Zero whispered in wonder. As well as two black credit cards – one Visa, one MasterCard - a United States visa was in the passport and there was a pair of keys. Zero couldn't guess what they were for. He replaced everything in the envelope and dropped it on the bed, still angry, still uncomfortable with this. He didn't know what Ken had in mind. He hadn't touched him. He insisted on taking care of him... Zero became more scared as he realised he didn't know what _this _was. What he was. He could be a damned pet!

Zero sat up and dismounted the bed, running for the door.

"Ken! Ken!"

Zero ran downstairs and looked around the suite but Ken was nowhere to be seen. Defeated, he went into the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator... Oh wait, there's a note...

_Don't forget. Nine o'clock sharp. Use anything in the closets that will fit you and you have the use of the limousine. I'll be back in an hour. Kaname._

"'Kaname'? Who's 'Kaname'?" Zero muttered, pulling at the fridge door. Inside the two-door was an apple and a bottle of orange juice. Zero closed the fridge and thought about the cash and credit cards, an evil glint entering his eyes. Maybe his freedom should come with a huge price tag. He did have the use of the _limousine_...

"**WELCOME** back! We are here with over-night sensation Ken of the band 'Pure Blood'. That's your whole name? Ken?"

"Yes. Just Ken."

"Alright, I know a woman who is just called 'Cher'," Oprah teased, and the audience laughed.

"I know! I am such a fan!" Ken smiled broadly and winked at the camera and the whole row in that direction nearly swooned. Zero watched all of this like he was in another world. The man was charming, witty, handsome – he actually put on make-up for the show, so now he was _devastating_ – and a flirt. If only Oprah knew who he really was.

"Who is this guy?" Zero wondered aloud, and one band member laughed.

"I know. He is something else when he had an audience besides us. In a few weeks, everyone in America with a t.v. and a pulse will be in love with him."

"Hey we're up!"

"Gotta go, kid. You sure you want to watch from back here? He really is spectacular in person."

"Nah, I'm good." Zero replied, worried about, anyone, seeing him. Especially Yuuki. She watched all of these cable shows.

"Alright. Let's go!"

Zero watched as the band members ran off to set up while Oprah tried to get a definitive response from Kaname - that was his name, although Zero was only to call him that in private – about his love life. Kaname showed his dimples and said he was always on the look-out for that special someone.

_To eat, you mean, _Zero thought evilly, as he continued to watch. Soon the segment was over and the lights dimmed a little and Kaname was ushered by Oprah to an adjoining stage where his band had set up. He inspected the equipment with a serious glance and tapped the microphone once, smiling apologetically to the audience who clapped at another sight of dimples. Soon they were back from commercial.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, here to sing their gorgeous new ballad from their album 'Inferno' I give you: 'Pure Blood'!"

The lights flashed and Kaname took the mike and a soft, beautiful intro started on the piano, then Kaname began...

"_One look at you and I was hooked..."_

Kaname had a rich deep voice. Slightly husky but perfectly controlled. The band came in on the chorus and Kaname easily shifted to a higher register with a sweetness that blew Zero away. He sat, his mouth open, watching in rapt attention as Kaname's expressive eyes seemed to look right into him, as his voice rapped him in angst and love and longing. Zero had been too unfair when he had dismissed the few seconds he had heard of a couple songs on the internet. He was sensational.

The ballad ended and there was a slight pause before the audience burst out in enthusiastic applause. Kaname smiled achingly as if he was too touched by the song and bowed, gesturing to his band. Oprah came in with tears in her eyes.

"The launch is next Tuesday! 'Inferno' everybody!"

Zero found himself clapping and stopped, pulling himself together. This man kidnapped him. Hello?

He stood and went back to the dressing room. He would lie on the couch until Kaname was finished. He didn't need to see anymore things to cloud his judgment.

"**ZERO**!"

"Huh? Oh, hi."

"Did you watch it? How was it?"

Kaname was sitting next to him on the couch leaning in too close, talking low. Zero turned away and sat up to give himself space.

"It was okay. You interview well."

"I meant the song...!"

"Oh that. I saw a bit, but got bored and came in here to rest. How did the audience take it?"

"You didn't see it all?"

"No. I've told you, your music isn't my thing. But if they liked it..."

Kaname stood and walked away and sat heavily in the chair. He took a towelette and began to remove his make-up. Zero could feel that strange tinge to the atmosphere again.

"Kaname..."

"Shhh. Just be quiet a second. Could you get me some water?"

Zero stood and opened the mini-fridge, removing one of the stock he had made sure was there. He gave it to Kaname who took it without a word.

"Kaname, if you have more to do, perhaps I could go to the hotel or whatever. I am tired."

"No. You will stay with me. Always. I have a meeting with my agent and then we go to the house. Jacket."

Zero tugged the leather from the hanger and threw it at Kaname who caught it easily.

"Let's go. And keep up. I can't stand it when you dawdle."

"Yes, sir."

Kaname paused as if to count to ten, then turned and pulled open the door. He smiled for the cameras and waved as he headed out to the car, only stopping to make sure Zero got into the car ahead of him. Then they drove off. "Oprah" was a success.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to real life and "Vampire Knight"._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_by lightpathetic_

**KANAME** opened the door to the house and walked in, dropping his coat, bag and everything else on the table in the hall. The house was in a quiet gated community on the outskirts of New York. It had taken a while to get there and Zero had fallen asleep in the car. Kaname had let him, knowing he was exhausted even though he wanted to make him stay up out of sheer spite. He knew Zero hated him. But it hurt when he hadn't even watched his performance especially since he had written that song about him had performed it for him. He had been more nervous than he had ever been before when he had gotten onstage only because Zero was there and, he hadn't even seen it. Kaname wanted to spend long hours torturing Zero to within an inch of his life but thought better of it considering a. he probably wouldn't survive and b. it wouldn't enamour him any more to the little idiot. On the long drive Kaname merely decided it was best to just keep trying to win him over. He could always reprise the song in private.

Kaname supported Zero's head carefully as he kicked off his shoes and headed for Zero's bedroom. Kaname already had everything arranged for him. He _had_ been waiting for him to show up for six months. In that time he had bought a few houses across the country, just for them. He didn't intend to hunt in America, but he did want them to be able to be themselves without prying eyes. So his houses were private, relatively secluded, and traditional so Zero would feel at home.

Kaname opened the door and laid Zero on the bedspread. The room needed airing, the staleness pervading the covers. The window flew open and a stiff breeze filled the room for a few moments before dying down and the window closing again. All the while Kaname covered Zero's body with his own to keep him warm but he still stirred. The autumn air was a bit cool.

"Oh!"

Zero exclaimed at being face to face with Kaname in some sort of room. The last thing he remembered was being in the car ignoring Kaname's foul mood. He tried to pull away but Kaname wasn't having it.

"Where are we?" he asked, twisting his face to pretend to be looking at the room so Kaname's visage didn't figure so prominently or closely.

"Our house in New York. Don't worry about it now. Go back to sleep."

Zero frowned at Kaname's attempt to be gentle and nurturing, treating him like a child. He would do what he wanted to do, dammit! Besides he would never forget what his situation really was, no matter how much Kaname tried to sugar coat it. He began to push again at Kaname's chest.

"Let me up! I can't sleep in these clothes anyway."

"You were doing well enough so far. However, if you want me to undress you..." Kaname offered, trailing his fingers under Zero shirt to caress his soft stomach.

"NO!!" Zero yelled, grabbing Kaname's hand, "I want to undress myself but I want to look around. Kaname..."

"Alright! You are so stubborn." Kaname caved, rolling off of Zero to let him sit up. He could have put him to sleep, he could have done... a lot of things. But Kaname wanted it like this. Only like this.

The room's palette was grey and pale blue. Zero knew it was a homage to his distinctive colouring.

"I knew it. You like my hair."

Kaname sat up and looked into Zero's eyes.

"You don't like it? I can change..."

"No it is nice. Cozy and comforting. Reminds me of my childhood."

"You had a grey room as well?"

"... Yes. Where's the kitchen?" Zero asked, pulling away from that subject quickly. He didn't want to talk about Ichiru to this person. Ichiru might end up bolted to his bathroom floor...

"Come. I'll show you."

Kaname stood and pulled Zero to his feet and out into the hall.

"That's my bedroom across from yours. This way is the stairs."

Kaname pulled him along. There was a soft carpet underfoot, all along to the stairs and on it. It was a pale blue-grey that complimented the rest of the house where the only other shocks of colour were reds and white. It worked though. The stairs ended right in the main hallway which led to an ornate double door Zero guessed was the main entrance. Then Kaname turned and pulled him left.

"That's the living-room. It's not a show piece. The television, entertainment system etc are all in there. You know where to go when you get bored. Over here," Kaname said gesturing to a closed door on his left across from the living-room, "is my music room. Don't worry, it is fully sound proofed."

"I wasn't." Zero answered, giving another tug on his trapped hand. Kaname tightened his grip and continued along the house.

"In here is the dining room. And then through here," Kaname pulled Zero in and finally let go his hand, only to encircle his waist, "is the kitchen."

Zero registered surprise first at how small the house actually was. He'd thought Kaname would have splurged on some massive status symbol. But then he became amazed at the kitchen. It certainly was more than the large fridge and a bar at his suite in Tokyo.

"You actually have cookware."

"'We' have cookware. Can you cook?"

"Can you?" Zero retorted, sure Kaname would back down, not wanting to concede to being the resident slave. But to his surprise Kaname walked confidently inside the kitchen and removed a pan and headed for the embedded fridge.

"What would you like? The fridge is fully stocked, as well as the cupboards. I can do almost any cuisine except British, but only on the principle that I don't call what they do 'cuisine'..."

"I... don't know. Are you joining me?" Zero asked shyly, not sure how to ask...

"Are you trying to ask if I eat anything besides Yakuza?"

"Do you have to be such a prick...?" Zero began irritably, but Kaname interrupted him.

"I love to eat. It's why I love to cook. My body doesn't only need blood. Raw flesh has its moments but you just have to bow to beautifully seasoned duck with Parmesan cheese dressing, roasted to perfection..."

"Okay! I only feel like an omelet though." Zero interceded quickly, moving around Kaname to pull out some eggs. He didn't want to know what Kaname liked or didn't like or want he could do that was _normal_... It made him so... sympathetic.

"Alright. What would you like in it?"

"I think green peppers... Do you have bacon...?" Zero stopped went the items landed in front of him, with Kaname's smile hardly wavering, "Thanks."

"Make it with cream..."

"Milk."

"Add basil."

"Just pepper and salt."

"God, you are killing me..."

Zero stifled a grin at Kaname's melodramatic utterance and continued to cook. Quickly he learned just to ask for stuff rather than look for it. Quickly he learned to allow Kaname to handle the chopping. It was effortless for him. As so many things were. Kaname began to tell a story of the perfect omelet he had learned about in Amsterdam and soon they were chatting freely, laughing and joking, completely forgetting, just for a while, that they were on opposite sides. Kaname had a dry sense of humour but he could also be goofy. Zero was prone to imitation and funny faces and Kaname nearly fell onto the floor during an impersonation of Britney Spears. It was an easy atmosphere, one they fell into like ducks to water and any bystander would have objectively said the two were made for each other. But that was easy for objective bystanders to say...

**  
KANAME** speared his last forkful into his mouth and broke off some bread to wipe the plate. Zero liked to kill the egg's real flavour with limejuice but he could live with that. Zero was just now finishing as well and was sipping on his tea contentedly. It had been nice. Too nice...

"I'll get the dishes." Zero said, rising.

"I'll help." Kaname said quickly, also rising.

They headed to the kitchen and worked in silence. Soon...

"Well, thanks. I guess I'll head to bed now." Zero said, as soon as they had finished stacking the dishwasher.

"Wait."

"What?"

"I'll come with you."

"To bed?!" Zero asked, his hackles rising.

"Not like that." Kaname was suddenly caught in an awkward moment. It had been months since he had last tasted him, and now Zero was more irresistible than ever. His scent alone was making him _nuts_...

"What then?"

Kaname looked up at Zero and suddenly he moved forward, backing Zero against the wall next to the door, pressing against him.

"You smell good..."

"Kaname..."

"I can't resist. I know the morning has been lovely and I hate to spoil it for you. But I love the way you taste. The more I like you, the more I need to..."

"Kaname you just 'ate'."

"I know. But," Kaname paused, long, beautifully tapered fingers rising to stroke Zero's soft neck tenderly, almost reverently, "_Please_. Just a little..."

Zero grimaced in disgust and pushed at Kaname before twisting away. Kaname was caught off guard so he fell back easily but soon righted himself.

"You can't help yourself can you! You have to behave this way all the time. Like some animal!"

Kaname recoiled as if slapped. The lovely spell that had him practically on his knees to Zero broke and his coldness returned in earnest. Along with the urge to torture him.

"I was only asking for a little blood, Zero. It wasn't the world. But forget about it. As you say, I just ate."

Zero felt the change and a small part of him regretted it. But the rest of him preferred it like this. He hated this creature and he _was_ a creature. He didn't want to forget it. He turned to leave...

"Hold on. I want to talk to you about what happened earlier. I don't like that you missed the song. If you are going to be here you might as well be in a position to give me objective critiques. I can't just pay you to bring water and look good. So from now on you, whenever I have an appearance you will sit up front in the audience. That way you won't miss anything and I can _wake_ you if you fall asleep..."

"No! That could mean...!"

Zero stopped. He had almost giving himself away. But Kaname was quicker.

"Yes. Your precious girl could see you. After walking away from her like that, imagine her _pain _when you show up like that. With me..."

"No!! You bastard!! I have done everything you say! I have given up my life!! Can't you show some decency...?!"

"Who ever heard of a monster with decency?" Kaname spat, his face inches from Zero frantic visage. He walked around Zero to the door. "Turn off the lights when you are done here." Kaname threw back and left, leaving Zero to his fears and guilt, to pick up the pieces alone.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to VK._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_by lightpathetic_

"Alright, Zero. We're here."

"You go on ahead I'll be there in a few minutes."

Kaname paused in his disembarkation to look back in suspicion at Zero. He had been inordinately chipper and non-confrontational the entire evening and now he was trying to separate from him as soon as they had arrived outside NBC.

"Zero, what are you planning?"

"What? Me? Nothing! I have never been to this city before so I thought I would look around while you got into makeup. You take forever..."

"That's why I want you there. For company..."

"You don't need me, Kaname." Zero replied, leaving the bitter edge out of his voice, just barely, "You always end up talking to the rest of your band about future gigs. I'll be there in time for the show."

Kaname hesitated. He knew Zero was up to something. He was entirely too accepting of what was going to happen. Kaname did intend for him to be up front and centre in the audience of the Saturday Night Live set. When he had mentioned that to Zero he noticed his increased heart-rate and stress levels but Zero had said nothing. Now today he was coping remarkably well.

"The point is I know you are there. You don't have to talk about the business with us. Your presence pleases me. However, the place is wonderful. I'd hate to begrudge you a chance to look around. You have an hour. I'll reserve your seat."

"Thank you."

"But, Zero." Kaname's smile vanished, his eyes narrowing as a red glow shone briefly. Zero shivered. "I am warning you. Don't do anything foolish. You don't yet know what I am capable of. Don't test me."

"Huh! So melodramatic! I hope you lighten up on set. It _is_ a comedy." Zero shot back opening the car door and getting out, slamming it behind him. He pulled his jacket closer around his neck and quickly disappeared into the crowd. He was already late...

"**YUUKI.**"

"Zero... Zero!"

Yuuki rolled over, coming fully awake. She was startled at first, then she was relieved to hear his voice, to know that he was okay. But then...

"You've got some nerve calling me like this?! After you walked out on me! You thought I was stupid? You made going for some juice seem like the ending of 'Ghost'..."

"I'm sorry, Yuuki. I'm in a little trouble. I didn't want to involve you..."

"Are you involved with the Yakuza? Oh my God, Zero. How could you be so stupid...!!"

"No, worse than the Yakuza. In fact they'd eat the Yakuza for lunch." Zero couldn't resist the small private joke.

"Oh no...! Are you in hiding?"

"Yes, but I miss you. I want us to meet."

"Of course. What did you do? Was it a loan?"

"...Yes. Something like that. Yuuki, do you have any friends you can stay with outside of Tokyo?"

"Outside? But my job! My apartment! I can't...!"

"This is life or death, Yuuki. Please. They know about you..."

"Well, I have some family..."

"No family. Please..."

"Okay. I know someone. Takuma. His grandfather is creepy but he is very nice. I can stay there for a while..."

"Good. Go now. I'll call you when I get back to Japan. Don't tell anyone else where you are going, Yuuki. That's important. Not even Sayori."

Yuuki gasped at the implications but agreed. Zero leaned his head against the phone booth. He hoped she would be safe. He hoped they could get away. He had withdrawn some cash that should keep them for a few months, until they could settle somewhere. He hoped he was doing the right thing. It would be very dangerous for both of them. But he knew he couldn't go on like this.

" Goodbye then. I'll see you in a little while. I love you."

"I love you, too. Zero..."

Zero hung up the phone and looked at his watch. The flight to Japan was leaving in a half an hour. On schedule. He was in the departure lounge and he could see the plane getting ready to board. He looked around often but saw nothing. But he couldn't relax. He was counting on Kaname not flaking out on his precious appearance. He would be in the air and away before he could come after him.

Twenty minutes. Board already! Zero was beginning to feel sick. The tension was incredible.

"_You don't yet know what I am capable of."_

Zero stood and looked pleadingly toward the plane. Then much to his relief an attendant came in to the particular gate.

"Flight 509 to Japan now boarding..."

Zero jumped and nearly ran to the gate, proffering his ticket eagerly to the bored attendant. It seemed to take forever but eventually they were on the plane. They were far fewer passengers than seats, fortunately, so it happened quickly. Zero kept his head down, leaning on the seat ahead of him. Praying. He felt like he needed God now. Something larger than his own efforts. Something larger than Kaname...

Zero didn't raise his head his head the entire time he was "praying" so he didn't see the figure on the edge of the runway looking up at him, or at least the pale grey nape that was visible just inside the window to his excellent vision. And he didn't see the cold set to the figure's face as he watched the plane get ready for takeoff: closing the door and starting to taxi. The figure could have handled this quietly. It was very much within his capabilities to board the plane and drag Zero off. But he was in very foul mood and in this mood he decided to teach Zero a lesson he would never forget.

**ZERO** sighed in relief as the plane gained speed up the runway and began to lift off. He finally lifted his head and leaned back, trying to will the butterflies in his stomach to go away. It was going to be alright. His prayers had been answered.

Zero looked outside as the plane finally banked east and saw... something on the wing. He blinked, thinking his eyes were deceiving him. He had seen that Stephen King movie. It always reared its head when he flew...

"Jesus Christ!!"

Zero jumped up breaking the seat belt as a face... he was sure it was a face. No... no way...

"Can I help you sir?"

Zero stood for a while staring at the empty window. He couldn't show her.

"You've got to land the plane. I can't explain, but we are in a shitload of trouble..."

"Sir, please sit down. It is going to be alright..."

"No!! You don't understand!"

"Sir! This is an order! Take your seat!"

"But..."

Zero stopped as they all heard it. It sounded like... footsteps on the roof.

"What the...?"

"Wait! Kan...!"

Zero didn't get far. He was thrown to the roof along with the air hostess as the left engine exploded.

"No!! Stop it!!"

Everyone began to scream. Engines on commercial flights didn't just blow up.

The other air hostesses, appealed for calm, begging people to takes their seats. They came to help their colleague who lay unconscious in the aisle. Zero wasn't far from her, but was okay.

"Shit. Kaname. Don't do this. Please." Zero whispered, praying to a different being, "All these people. You can't..."

The plane jerked again, causing Zero and the other staff to hit the roof. Then it began to dive. Everyone began screaming and crying, the ones who hadn't blissfully passed out, that is. The captain was saying something but Zero wasn't paying attention. He was thinking of Yuuki. He was hoping she would safe.

"Just kill me. Only me. I beg you. I am sorry. I shouldn't have tried this. Please...!"

The plane pulled up and rolled once before crashing into the runway it had just taken off of. It slid along its belly a long while before gradually coming to a halt near the terminal after it momentum was slowed down by an empty plane. There was calm for a moment before the other engine exploded.

"Let us out!!"

"Help!!"

"I don't want to die!!!"

Someone opened the door and inflated the slide. And there was a mad rush to leave, everyone mindful that the plane was on fire and full of fuel. Zero stood, frantically trying to help the unconscious and slow to the slide. Soon almost everyone was off the aircraft a lot quicker than they got on. Zero sighed in relief.

"Go on, Sir. Quickly."

Zero looked at the young lady and nodded and jumped, sliding to the bottom. He was quickly caught and wrapped in a blanket and led to one side.

"Are you okay Sir? Are you hurt?"

"No! Was anyone killed?"

"Not that we saw. It's a miracle really. Come! We have to clear this area."

Zero swallowed as tears came to his eyes. No-one died. The engines' fires were already being tended to. Zero was deposited on the side in some grass with others who were waiting for emergency services. Many had cuts and bruises and severe emotional trauma, but they looked okay otherwise...

Zero looked back towards the flaming plane and suddenly his veins filled with ice. Walking calmly in his direction, ignoring the chaos, was a dark figure in a long jacket, his blowing hair almost obscuring the red tinge to his eyes. Zero was stymied for a moment and then grew bold with rage. He stood and ran to him. He began to swing his fists uncaring as to the danger his was in, regardless of the situation. Kaname caught him easily and pulled him into him, holding his hands behind him. Zero began to cry...

"Zero..."

"You are the devil himself! You did this! I know...!"

"Zero."

"You are insane! How could you hurt these people...!"

"Zero, I overheard your conversation with Yuuki. I know the friend of whom she spoke. I can have someone at their house in twenty minutes. It all depends on you."

Zero stilled, listening. His eyes though held on to their despair.

"We are going back. It is a good thing I always arrive extra early. In case the unforeseen happens..."

"You... The taping..."

"Is in an hour. We'll be back in twenty minutes. Hold on to me."

Zero forced himself to touch Kaname and suddenly they were clear of the ground and... flying.

"You knew..."

"I suspected. But now you won't try this again, will you?"

Zero remained silent as he watched the burning plane disappear behind some tall buildings and into the night. There was no need for an answer.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to VK and real life._


	7. Chapter 7

Okay folks. This is where it gets "crack". LOL. Or maybe I am being hard on myself.

Chapter 7

by lightpathetic

**TO SAY** Zero was a little traumatised by the whole plane crash episode was an understatement. He cried uncontrollable on the "ride" back to the NBC headquarters and then, while Kaname was preparing, he sat on the couch and stared at his shoes without moving. If it was a different situation, Zero would have been struck by how much power Kaname did have. His telekinetic powers didn't only just move plant pots and petit girlfriends. He would have enjoyed the rapid ride over the city, taking in the views and generally have been gobsmacked by the experience. However it wasn't a different situation. Zero had been trying to escape his captor and had been spectacularly thwarted. He only felt more trapped, and more desperate.

"Zero. It's time to go."

Zero jerked as he heard Kaname address him and looked away not being able to bring himself to look at who he was sure now, was the Devil.

"Surely you don't expect me to still..."

"Of course I do. I warned you against the stunt you pulled. It was no-one's fault but your own."

"An entire plane crash!!! You are blaming me for your plucking the wings off a 747 and tossing it onto the ground...!!"

"Shhh! Will you keep your voice down!!"

"I will not!! Why don't you just kill me, your freak!! I am sick and tired of this shi..."

Zero fell silent and put his hand to his throat. A force was making it hard for him to speak.

"Zero," Kaname said approaching Zero with a languid grace only reserved for predatory cats, "I am warning you: pull yourself together and let's go. I am in the worst mood I can possibly get into and it's your fault. That display of power has made me tired and irritable and all I want to do right now is drain you dry and go to sleep. Seeing as that is not feasible on both counts I will have to grin and bear it. But if you don't completely do as I say from now on, I won't be responsible for what I will do if I lose my temper," Kaname gestured to the building at large and then pointed at Zero, "and you will have a front row seat..."

Zero opened his mouth to try to get some air and Kaname seemed to become aware of what he was doing. He released Zero immediately and turned to leave, having no doubt at all that Zero would follow him...

**KANAME** let them both into the house and closed the door behind him. Zero immediately ran up to his bedroom and slammed the door leaving Kaname behind. Kaname sighed and dropped his things on the table and removed his shoes. The drive here had been tense and silent. Kaname had left the set in a better mood although he was still tired and drained. It had been fun. They were all so talented and they had the grace to say he had done well even though he had flubbed a line when Alec Baldwin came on as a love struck fan and was pretty physical with him. In Kaname's state it was all he could do to stop from taking him up into the rafters much less concentrate on lines. It was hilarious though.

But this atmosphere... Kaname sighed again. He knew he had gone a little overboard. But they were all fine! They had all been wearing their seat belts except for Zero and the air hostess that had come to subdue him. It had looked horrifying but Kaname had had everything under control. And Zero knew that! Kaname had told him, but he was still up there sulking... Maybe this was about more than the "plane crash". Maybe Zero missed... the girl...

**ZERO **lay face down on his bed fully clothed and completely zoned out. He went over his short life over and over, trying to find anything at all he could blame this on. He was being punished for something horrible he had done in his life. It had to be the case. Once he found it he would feel better because he would know this was his penance. He would know he deserved this hell and would endure. Maybe it was that time he had shop-lifted that kabuki mask from that old man's shop...

Zero tensed as he felt... hands?! He tried to roll over but he was being held down.

"No. Don't move."

"Kaname!! What are you doing?" Zero cried out, alarmed, his other issues temporarily forgotten as he felt hands trail themselves up the insides of his thighs. They got higher and higher...

"Oh no! Stop! The hell I am going to...!"

"Zero. Be quiet. I know what you need. I know you find me attractive. Everyone does. It is part of what I am. Just relax. You won't regret it."

"Kaname if you think I'll let you do this after what you di... Kaname!"

Zero stopped as his clothes were suddenly ripped from his body. Then he felt Kaname's tongue on his neck, then spine, licking, laving...everything...

"No..."

Kaname reached under Zero while he did this and ran his hands restlessly over his torso then thighs and then...

"No, wait!!"

"No."

Kaname rolled Zero over and planted his tongue in his mouth to silence him as much as to deal him a devastating kiss. Zero fought but soon tired as Kaname licked him hungrily: his tongue and his sensitive young vampire fangs, the roof of his mouth. Kaname was naked too, Zero found out, and his skin was sliding against his as he moved. His skin... it was soft, silky and warm... He hands too were warm and soft where they rubbed... No!! Zero tried to resist. He really did...

"Pweasth..."

"'Please' for what Zero? Tell me. Tell me what you want..." Kaname asked, his voice raspy from desire, his tone one of almost pleading. Again, Zero seemed to have taken him over completely. What was it about him?

"Stop..."

"That's not what you want." Kaname said squeezing Zero's quite obvious arousal between them, "Fine. I'll... guess..."

Kaname bit his lip, drawing blood and kissed Zero again, forcing his tongue between his teeth and making Zero taste him. Zero moaned and automatically sought the blood, his own tongue guided to the source and began to clean Kaname's lip. Kaname moaned, his body again responding to Zero's need, the pleasure intensifying as Zero began to suck on his lip. Kaname trembled. He too wanted blood... but...

Kaname broke the kiss and moved lower, licking and kissing roughly everything he saw. He worked the sensitive flesh on Zero's neck and moved lower to his nipples, rolling the stiff buds with his tongue as his eyes looked up to inspect his handiwork. Zero moaned and thrashed as he watched this, each time Kaname's tongue snaked out made him shake. He grabbed Kaname's hair and tugged, wishing he would stop but wishing he wouldn't...

Kaname took this as a cue and moved lower, licking Zero's taut stomach, watching his muscles tense and undulate under his stimuli, his fingers replaced his tongue at Zero's nipples, pinching as he moved lower again to where he was sure Zero could use him.

"No! Wait!" Zero cried out, not sure why he did. Was he uncomfortable about this? Was he afraid of what would happen if Kaname touched him? The more Kaname touched him the more the latter seemed the case.

"What is it? Do you prefer something else?" Kaname asked, meeting Zero's desire filled stare. "Tell me what you want and I'll do it."

"I..." Zero hesitated. This sitution was nuts. This person hovering over him, asking him what he wanted, offering to fulfill it. This same guy destroyed his life.

"I'm not ready for this."

"Bullshit."

Kaname planted Zero's entire length inside his mouth and began to draw on him firmly, quickly. He used him like a remarkably flavoured lollipop, twisting his head enthusiastically as he enjoyed the taste. Zero fell back on the bed and groaned loudly, then cried out. His body racked with a sensation so intense he felt like he would split open.

"Jesus! Jesus! Ah, Kaname...!"

Kaname close his eyes as Zero said his name like _that_. He groaned and removed Zero's length from his mouth, but only to lick every inch of his scrotum and tight ring, while he massaged Zero gently. He knew where he was sensitive. He knew what he would want. Zero wailed as he pumped his hips and Kaname knew he was close. He replaced him in his mouth and began to draw on him again, but this time he slowed down, prolonging the inevitable, his hands restless again as Zero trembled beneath him.

"Shit!" Zero began to pant. His fingers found Kaname's hair again and he pulled painfully, unable to help himself. He was coming apart he was sure...

Kaname sucked until Zero was spent and then stopped, finally pulling away as Zero went limp. He slid up Zero sweaty body and looked at him, softly caressing his hair. Zero eventually opened his eyes to the sight of Kaname studying his face. He coloured and tried to roll away to stand, but Kaname stopped him.

"What is it?"

"I want a shower." Zero said, still avoiding Kaname's eyes.

"...Okay. You can do that while I go make us dinner. Come down when you are finished."

"I'm not hungry." Zero answered tersely, just before a loud gurgle and whine issued from his stomach. Kaname stayed where he was looking at Zero a while longer as he squirmed under the weight of the lie.

"Alright. Dinner then." Zero conceded.

Kaname disappeared but Zero didn't move. He rolled onto his side as more tears came to his eyes. Somehow, despite his body satiety, he felt even worse than he ever thought possible.

"**HI! COME IN!**"

Zero allowed the door to close behind him as he approached Kaname who was stir-frying something.

"It smells good."

"So do you."

"Kaname..."

"It is 'Shrimp Surprise'. An old recipe from Thailand. Your taste reminded me of it."

Kaname said so in such a matter of fact manner, Zero caught himself smiling.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You are too uninhibited for me."

"Is that bad?"

"Not always."

"Good. Help me set the table."

"Okay."

Zero took some plates and bowls out to the dining room and removed the place mats etc from the cabinet. He was soon finished and he came back to find Kaname "emptying" the main dish into a serving tureen while he chopped greens for a salad. It must be so handy to be able to do that.

"Were you born a vampire?"

"Yes. I am a pure-blood. As distinct from the ones that are hybrids with humans or are made."

Like me, Zero thought.

"So your parents were pure-blood vampires too?"

"...Yes."

Could you always move things with your mind?"

"Yes. I was born with these abilities. Why all the questions?"

"Just curious about my master."

Kaname made an irritated sound.

"I am not your master, Zero."

"Well, what are you then?"

Kaname stayed silent for a while and Zero thought he wouldn't answer the question. He sighed and turned to leave.

"I don't want to be your master. I would rather we were friends. But you make it so difficult all the time..."

"And you can't guess why? You kidnapped me! You are stopping me from living my life...!"

"You don't have a life away from me, Zero! Not anymore. I made you. You should be dead, but I allowed you to live. You are mine."

"What! Just like that?!"

"Yes, just like that. Believe me," Kaname said as he piled the salad into a bowl, "I don't let any of my prey live. By rights you should be dead. Which do you prefer?"

"Death."

"Really?" Kaname looked up at Zero and raised an eyebrow, "You would prefer to be in several pieces under the sea, than travelling with me? Sleeping in luxury, having anything you desire..."

"I don't have everything I desire..."

Kaname slammed the spoon he was using onto the counter.

"Christ! Will you shut up about the girl? That part of you is over!"

"You... How could you be so obtuse?! You think I could just forget her like that? I am in love with her! You think you can just force me to have an orgasm and I will turn to you?"

"Dammit. I didn't want to do this. I wanted you as you are."

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly Kaname was in front of him, looking into his eyes.

"Do you want me to erase your memories? Do you want me to wipe your slate clean and start fresh? Will that help?"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"No. You are. You don't understand that I can never let you go. You aren't supposed to exist. You have crossed my path and I have claimed you as prey. I am not ashamed of this. I have a right to exist and feed just as you do. You were unlucky or lucky, however you see it, but the fact remains I picked you. You could deal with it and take the gift of a different life I am offering you or you could die. But I like you, so you could have your mind wiped with the knowledge that I will be using your unknowing shell as I please until your natural death. So what is it to be?"

Zero looked into Kaname's deep brown gaze searching for evidence that he was bluffing and found none.

"No... I don't want that. Please."

Zero jerked as Kaname disappeared. He looked around and realised the bowls of food were gone too...

"Zero! Come on! Let's eat!"

**THEY** finished and sat at the table a while. The atmosphere was still stilted and Zero hadn't relaxed. He was even more uneasy when he realised Kaname could do much worst to him. No memories? He wouldn't be himself if he couldn't remember his parents, or their death or his brother or the dog he'd gotten when he was six that died when he was fourteen. The day he had first seen Tokyo and fell in love and hated it all at once. Or Yuuki. Her cute smile. The earnest effort she put into everything that made you love it no matter how it turned out. Someone had to remember these things or they may not as well have existed. He wanted to remember...

"I don't want to erase your memories you know. I like you as you are, as I have said before. You can relax with me, Zero. You can yell and scold and laugh and cry and do that long moaning sound you do when you taste blood on my tongue..."

"I don't...!"

"Yes, you do. I know it too well. It cuts right through my body..."

"Kaname, just..."

"Okay! You are so sensitive. What I am saying is you just can't leave me. That's all. Otherwise, you have your freedom. You can try whatever you like. Do you want to go to university? What are you interested in?"

Zero opened his mouth... and closed it. He didn't know. He'd had dreams as a child but since he realised that they could never come true he just forgot about them. Kaname saw this and backed off the subject.

"Think about what you would like to do and let me know. No rush. You have the rest of your life."

"What about you? What are you getting out of this?"

"Your company and maybe..."

Kaname trailed off but his eyes lowered to Zero's neck, almost mesmerised by the pulse there.

"Blood? You want my blood?"

Kaname looked away pained. Zero had no idea how much he wanted it. He still thought about that night when he had first bitten him. Zero had been drunk and playful. Kaname had been nervous. Nervous! There was something about Zero that made him weak... He had been staring at Zero's neck and Zero had noticed, playfully turning his head and touching it... Before he knew it Kaname was nibbling his neck and then...

"Then take it. You took it already. You are strong enough to."

"I know that."

"So what's the matter? You keep saying I am yours..."

"You aren't like the others."

"What?"

"I don't want to just take it. I want..." Kaname trailed of uncomfortably.

"I... see..." Zero said, smiling as realisation dawned. Kaname was waiting for permission. From him! How rich was that?

Kaname got to his feet and began to pick up the dishes. He turned to leave and... dropped them. He swung back to see Zero's finger playing in a small pool of his own blood on a saucer. He looked at the mess and then smiled again at Kaname, but knowingly, as if he had him by the balls. Who knew it would be something so simple...

"You want me to offer my blood. Suppose that doesn't happen? You would have to take it then wouldn't you?"

"Zero... Don't..."

"Why don't you take it? What are you afraid of? Losing control? Killing me? Ripping me to..."

Kaname let loose a high pitched whine and dropped to his knees. His body was clamouring for him to destroy, his mind barely hanging on. His claws shot out and his fangs grew in preparation. But still he stayed there, his body tense. He wouldn't move. He wouldn't give in...

Zero squeezed his finger and more drops came out. Kaname inched forward, drawn to the substance. The smell was intoxicating. He longed to feel it at the back of his throat, to feel it seep into his body. Zero's blood called to him like nothing else and all he felt like doing was tearing at his neck and breaking him... A low growl came from Kaname, as crimson eyes looked up at his torment. He should never have trusted him. Never...

Then the glass of water fell onto the saucer.

"Oopps! My bad! Goodnight!"

Zero stood and walked from the room, sucking on his healing finger. He was a much happier man. He had learned many things, he thought, as he relished the memory of utter pain and hunger on Kaname's face.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to Hino-sensei of "Vampire Knight._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_by lightpathetic_

"**NO!** That's not right. Cut the music! Cut everything!"

The fans were turned off and the dancers in the audience stopped for the fourth time, some complaining about the act's lack of concentration. Well, Ken's lack of concentration.

Zero too frowned as the director again yelled "cut". Kaname looked fantastic, as he always did. Today he was dressed in all black leather with a collared shirt of some deep, luminescent blue material highlighting his pale, gorgeous face. The fans blew up his hair as he stood at the microphone and with his long legs wide and commanding, he looked as sexy as hell. Zero had rolled his eyes as some of the dancers had run to him when he had arrived, trying to get his attention. But four takes on in almost as many minutes, Kaname was losing a little of his lustre. He looked dazed and out of it.

Sure, this evening he had looked like hell. He was paler than usual and had been monosyllabic since he pounded on Zero's door to wake him up, the room vibrating as Zero was cruelly jerked into consciousness. Zero hadn't expected him to even speak to him today, considering what had happened earlier, but Kaname apparently still expected him to come with him on engagements, even if the atmosphere around them seemed toxic.

"Listen, Ken. Time is money! What's the matter? Your girlfriend dump you?"

Members in the audience snickered and Kaname directed a cold stare at the director. Zero got the feeling that the man's chances of survival were getting slimmer.

"Do you want to take a break to take a hit or whatever you rock stars do? I have Madonna in two hours..."

"Why don't you see what's wrong with him?"

Zero turned around at the sound of a female voice on his left. It was, Deliah, one of the dancers. Zero had remembered her name because when she had introduced herself she had "accidently" popped out of her "top". She had paused for affect before saying "OOpppss!" and replacing the large enhanced assets back in her top. Zero was still replaying that moment... Over and...

"You two are involved right?"

"Wrong." Zero replied, quite annoyed she came that close already to the truth. Just because Kaname had ignored her and pointed Zero to where he wanted him to sit didn't make them a couple.

"Oh, whatever. One minute Ken's fun to be around and the next you show up and we hardly see him. But if you say so..."

"What?!"

"Are you his dealer then?"

Zero looked back at her, his mouth dropped open, and all he could think was he needed to get out of here.

"Excuse me."

Zero pushed to the side of the crowd and made to exit the room. He turned though at the last minute to glance at Kaname. He was watching Zero from their band huddle on the stage. His eyes... Zero turned back as Kaname's eyes held him. He was looking at him like he was a glass of water in the middle of the Atacama Desert. Zero headed for the door again but... Dammit...

"Ka... Ken can I speak to you a moment in private?"

The other band members were also looking at him with suspicion. Since Zero had showed up Ken had been happier and absent. They suspected it was more than friendship but Ken never explained, ignoring questions, fiercely protective of whatever their relationship was. It was suspicious, but Ken was a big boy. But now the consummate professional couldn't even manage an on stage scene for his video. It looked bad. Now as Zero came over to speak to him some of the stares were downright hostile.

"Please?"

"Go away. I'm busy..." Kaname answered turning away from him.

Zero sighed and walked away. He couldn't very well make an offer while they had an audience... Zero looked down at his palm as an idea dawned...

"**YOU ARE** a cruel piece of shit. I am trying my best to not haul one of those people away and you pull a stunt like that..."

"It was the only way. You wouldn't listen."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!!?" Kaname screamed, his body beginning to hurt as the scent of Zero's blood filled the dressing room. Kaname tried not to stare at Zero's bandaged hand.

"Why won't you take what you need? I can tell you are hungry."

"Is that what this is about? Dammit, I could gleefully kill you. What you did to me this morning was cruel. You have no idea of the day I had. No sleep..."

"Kaname," Zero interrupted, "Why don't you do it? You need it. Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Why are you? You could offer it too. You could say 'Kaname, I can see you are in pain. Let me help.' Rather than drive nails under my eyeballs..."

"I refuse. It would be like giving in to you. I couldn't live with myself."

"Well I guess we are done here."

Kaname spun on his heel... and fell onto the chair.

"Kaname! Kaname!"

"Don't come near me... Leave!"

Zero stepped back in surprise as Kaname snarled at him. His face... The large red eyes bore into him, his fangs protruded obscenely from his mouth. It looked like would hurt. But Zero didn't run away. He approached Kaname carefully and knelt beside him. Kaname whimpered and turn away. He could feel his control slipping away from him. He was so afraid he'd kill the one thing in his life that he looked forward to each day. His hands started to mangle the chair...

"Kaname. Go ahead. I want you to."

"No..." Didn't he understand? He was too far gone. If he touched him in this state...

"Hey, Mr. Ken! The director says if you don't come out now he is leaving..."

Kaname jerked at this his eyes narrowing on the door. He released the chair thinking there could be one less temperamental ass-hole in the world...

"No!"

Zero caught him and held on. They fell and rolled on the floor. Kaname ended up clutched to Zero's chest, his legs wrapped around him.

"I want you, Kaname. Bite me."

"Zer..."

"Kaname..." Zero whispered, removing his bandage and rubbing his hand over Kaname's mouth, watching Kaname convulse before he caught Zero's hand in his...

"That's it. Hurry before he really pisses you off and leaves."

Kaname ignored Zero's words and everyone else. His mind closed in on just the fact that Zero was willing and beneath him. His tongue slipped out between his distended fangs and slowly licked Zero hand, drying the wound of blood. Zero coloured as he saw Kaname close his eyes, savouring him like a delicious, precious dessert.

"Come on. What are you waiting for?" Zero asked nervously. They were waiting and the last thing he wanted them to think was that he was in here giving Kaname a hit. But then, he guessed he was.

"Forget them..." Kaname opened his eyes and took in the sight of Zero on the floor, his hair spread around his head his neck stretched by the awkward position they were in against the corner of the room. Kaname watched Zero's pulse for seemed an eternity.

"Touch your neck, Zero. Trace your vein for me. Show me where you want me."

Zero frowned in embarrassment. What was he doing?"

"Kaname, just drink..."

"Do it. Please."

Zero looked into Kaname's eyes and, dammit... What was it about him that made him feel sorry for him? The damned bastard. Zero took the hand that Kaname wasn't currently suckling and trailed his fingers along the area where Kaname had bitten him before. Zero's eyes closed involuntarily as his fingers elicited a response from the sensitive flesh making him shiver. God...

Kaname slapped Zero's hand away and affixed himself to Zero's neck in short order, whining as the blood began to flow into his mouth. It was just as he remembered. Even better. The sweet elixir quenched like nothing else ever could. Kaname drew large mouthfuls, tugging at the flesh trying to get more blood to flow. He was forgetting himself, lost in the magic that was this person's life source, lost as to the consequences...

Zero winced as he felt his flesh tear, but the pain subsided again, just as his hand had finally numbed. It must be Kaname's saliva. It was good stuff. Zero's head fell back as it suddenly became too heavy. He relaxed and went limp, thinking, aside from the fact this monster was actively feeding on him and there were gross slurping sounds, it was great. He felt that slow hum of pleasure as his body seemed to respond to Kaname's touch, his hunger. It was comforting too; especially since Kaname had him held tightly as if afraid he would slip away. He was getting cold though...

Kaname eventually realised his stomach was being squeezed. He was getting full...

"Oh shit!! Shit!! Zero! Zero!!"

Kaname finally lifted his head and began to slap Zero in the face.

"Zero!!!"

"What? Stop! Sleepy..."

"Zero!!"

Zero raised his hand and dealt Kaname a pathetic punch to the head, which he had imagined was a powerful cross.

"...Alone..."

Kaname lifted Zero off the ground and onto the couch. Why didn't he stop him? It was part of the consensual nature of it. You tapped the bloody mindless monster on the head and said when.

"Zero, here. Drink. Come on."

"Shhhh. Too loud..."

"Zero!!"

"Mr. Ken! Mr. Wong is throwing around the furniture. He says he is leaving and that he only works with professionals..."

Kaname let loose a strangled cry and the building shook. Zero opened his eyes.

"Was that an earthquake? We have to leave!!"

"Zero! Drink. Hurry."

"You want me to bite you? I don't know. What would be the point? I just fed you."

"Do you want the annoying man outside?"

"Of course not. I'm fine. Just a little sleepy. It was like that the last time. Just leave me here to sleep. You go and finish the video. You looked so pathetic..." Zero trailed off closing his eyes again. Kaname stayed though, the worried look still in place as he checked Zero's pulse. Was he okay? Of course he was. That wouldn't kill him; it's just that he never wanted Zero to suffer. Never wanted him to hurt. Never wanted him near harm.

"You still here? If I find out when I wake up that you don't have a stunning wrap of a video, after all I have done, you will never see another drop, unless it is on a plate. Do you hear me?"

Kaname sat up at this, quite startled. He didn't know how to take this.

"Well?"

Kaname got to his feet and went to the door. He hesitated.

"Not. Another. Drop."

Zero smiled as he heard the door slam.

"There's a good boy."

"**I CAN WALK!!**"

"I know that Zero. But, I want to carry you."

"God, I feel like some damned girl..."

"You don't feel like one to me."

"Who asked you?"

Kaname dipped his head to Zero's hair as he mounted the stairs. Slowly. Partly to tease Zero but partly because he wanted to prolong the contact. Zero felt good in his arms.

"If I had known you would behave this way..."

"Stop behaving like such a bad tempered troll. I have all this energy because of you. I am just being grateful. Now shut up and accept my gratitude."

"I'm glad you were finally able to work. Maybe now they won't think I victimised you in some way."

"They?" Kaname had reached Zero's door but paused tantalisingly outside. Zero began to kick and push again, Kaname held him easily. "Who's 'they'?"

"People..." Zero trailed off uncomfortably.

Kaname stood still and crooked an eyebrow, obviously waiting for a satisfactory answer. Zero resented being cornered.

"What do you expect? You bring me here and then drag me around to everything you do. You change your habits; look like you were going through withdrawal on the set. People are talking."

"Are they making you uncomfortable?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, I'll fire them. Who were they?" Kaname said opening the door and strolling to the bed.

"No! Wait! I didn't mean..."

"Was it the girl you were talking tonight? The one with the implants?"

"No...!"

"...Because what you talked about went along those lines."

"You were listening?"

"Yes. I am completely aware of you, wherever and whatever you are doing in a room. Who speaks to you, what they say, what you say..."

"Jesus. I have no privacy whatsoever..."

"No! I just want to make sure you are alright."

"Well I am sure I can handle a conversation with a glorified cheerleader all by myself, thank you."

Kaname lowered Zero to the bed, but just when Zero thought he would finally get away, Kaname lowered himself onto him and covered him from head to toe. Zero thumped the bed in a singular anguish.

"Kaname!"

"If it bothers you, I will stop. But the fact remains that what she said bothered you..."

"But that's my fault. I shouldn't care what they think. It's none of their business what we are to each other."

"No..." Kaname dipped his head and kissed Zero, sucking his lips tenderly. He was finding it harder and harder to stay away from him. He couldn't even bring himself to get up and separate for a shower. He was still wearing his costume, having left the set and the grinning director to rush back to Zero to take him home. What Zero did today touched him. He knew that Zero didn't completely hate him. That he was beginning to feel sympathy at least and maybe something more...

"Kaname!" Zero tried to push him away. Blood sharing was one thing, but the man was nibbling on his lips!

"You didn't like the kiss?"

"No! I just gave you some blood, Kaname, not a proposal of marriage. Will you snap out of this?"

Zero kept pushing until Kaname finally released him. He rolled to the other end of the bed and stood, backing away from it. Kaname sat up and looked at him.

"To me it's like the same thing. But as you had said: we are not involved. Are we?"

"No, we are not. So stop acting like... like..."

"A love-sick puppy?" Kaname suggested, his words seeming to hold a bitter irony that even Zero picked up.

"Right... Like that..." Zero trailed off uncertainly. He hoped... Kaname couldn't be...

Kaname stood and headed for the door.

"You seem okay then. I am going for a shower and then to the music room. I may be in there the rest of the day. You are free to amuse yourself as you wish..."

"Thanks." Zero answered, the sarcasm a potent constituent.

"...Tomorrow we leave for Los Angeles, so get some rest. Goodnight."

Zero said nothing as Kaname left, closing the door behind him.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampaia Horseman" lol. VK._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_by lightpathetic_

**ZERO** pulled back the heavy drapes and gasped, despite himself. As the sun rose it lit the valley, highlighting the entire city of Los Angeles in a rich golden hue. Zero walked out onto the terrace like an automaton, drawn to the fantastic view. He'd known there would be some sights when they had been driven up the almost endless hill but he'd no idea he would be able to see it from his room. Like this...

Kaname leaned in the doorway, having followed Zero into his room. Despite the fact he was still being deliberately cold and withdrawn, he just _had_ to see Zero's reaction. He needed to know he liked it. Kaname was grateful he was looking away from him as a dull warmth suffused his skin, his body jerking to attention. He would have given anything to be able to go to him and pull him back into his arms and share it with him. But...

"Get some sleep. You have a long day later. You have to get up early, while the sun is up."

Zero spun to look at Kaname, but he was already gone. Damn. He had so many questions.

"**KEN!!** Darling!!"

Zero automatically stepped to one side as a large man seemed to attack Kaname and rub his lips exuberantly on both his cheeks.

"Oh, you look good enough to eat!! I am so happy to see you are moisturising and I love that look. McQueen?" The man asked clapping his hands together.

"So do you, Chad. And, yes it is. He sent it over. I hope you don't mind..."

The man screamed and waved his hand dismissively, as if he was too impressed for words and Kaname was being too sweet to ask. Kaname was stunning in a navy blue T-shirt with a howling wolf print, under a blue blazer and loose navy jeans. He'd almost made Zero's mouth water and Zero figured Chad was under a similar influence.

Chad glanced up and noticed Zero hovering to Kaname's right. His face instantly took on a slightly, hostile character.

"I'm sorry. I only see people by appointment..." Chad spat, his eyes dismissing the fashion victim at a glance.

"He's with me." Kaname interceded, looking meaningfully at Zero as if daring him to say differently. Zero frowned and quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh..." Chad said, with more than a hint of desolation. Zero looked away in disgust as yet another person came to the wrong conclusion.

"I brought him so you could work your magic on him; as you have done with me."

"But who is he? A protégé?"

"No... I have a party tonight. I would hate for him to turn up like this with _me._ You know what Cojo is like..."

Chad gasped and launched himself at Zero at the mention of his arch-nemesis. Zero was still recovering from the fact that he was expected to go to a party tonight. Kaname could have told him this beforehand. Zero was ready to kill him. He stepped back and eyed the door longingly.

"Well, now that I get a closer look, there are some possibilities here. He does have a lovely bone structure, delicate features, although his complexion worries me. Are you anaemic? But, those eyes... I think blues and greens to bring them out. This tired hair, though, so ages you... What about a rinse...?"

"No. Do _not_ touch his hair colour."

It was said with such finality and possessiveness that both Zero and Chad looked back at Kaname in surprise. Chad recovered a little faster. He didn't even try to bargain or cajole like he would normally do. There was something about Ken's demeanour...

"...Okay then. Well, I think a feathered cut to lighten it and give it body. Don't worry; I can work around that totally unreasonable request..."

"No! I want to try something new." Zero piped up, his eyes gleaming as he found a chance to rebel. What did he mean don't touch his hair colour? It was his! Kaname certainly didn't own _that._ "I've wanted to try blond for ages but I couldn't afford it. What do you suggest?"

Chad's eyes brightened like he had just won a jackpot and he practically trembled at the thought when his eyes met Kaname's. Chad shivered, for another reason.

"Per... perhaps we will try just the cut for now and we will see how you feel. I have a wonderful conditioning system that will bring out all sorts of hidden textures and tones..."

Chad began to drag Zero away and Zero looked back at Kaname, who walked over to a chair and sat. Zero's eyes narrowed as he saw the small smile on his lips...

**ZERO** was exhausted by the time they returned to the house. Kaname looked fine but then, he hadn't done much of anything but sit there looking bored with a magazine, vetoing or approving the looks Chad came up with. Chad didn't even bother to ask him if he liked the ensemble. He would just turn to Kaname for a nod or a shake. There were a few things he would have taken home himself. He had even offered to pay except they had laughed in his face...

"The party starts at eleven. I want you to wear the navy blue jersey top and the dark green jeans..."

"Actually I prefer..."

"It's not up to discussion. That is what I want. If you come down in anything else you will find yourself 'mysteriously' naked."

"Yes, sir." Zero said, saluting before he raked his bangs from his eyes. He still felt naked although the cut was exceptional. Chad had cut the back and sides fairly short, shaping them exquisitely. His ears now showed with the hair cut back to frame them. But he had long bangs that ordinarily fell to just above his left eyelid in a wispy, light cascade. Zero had hardly recognised himself. So this existed under that untidy mane. Wow. Though it was with much relief to Chad when Kaname had finally nodded...

Kaname, ignored Zero's sarcasm.

"Get some rest. Be ready by ten."

"**THAT** was fantastic! You were simply captivating! I couldn't keep my eyes off of you!"

"It really was. I love the song too."

"Thank you so much Jenny, Marc," Kaname simpered, looking suitably impressed to receive such high praise from the influential couple, "How are the twins?"

Kaname nodded as Jennifer gushed on and on, watched by her adoring husband, but looked over his head to where Zero sat with some other guests. He was currently squished between an agent whose name he didn't remember right then and Ayu, who had come over from Japan for the launch at his request. This party was actually to celebrate it. They had just watched the video for the one of the singles "Taming the Beast" and as far as he could see it had rave reviews. Kaname was gratified by this. Sometimes he could be very cynical and detached but he loved his art and hoped it was well received.

Kaname listened to Zero and Ayu as they talked and laughed, mainly about the video and the club culture in Tokyo. But more than the subject matter Kaname was noticing the way Zero was turned into her as if she had his undivided attention, his eyes roaming over her appreciatively. He also saw the way Ayu was smiling coquettishly at him, tossing her blond hair that she'd had styled in tight ringlets to go with the short green, empire waist dress with the deep décolletage Zero couldn't seem to remove his eyes from. He didn't like it one bit. He preferred when Zero had been suffering on the sidelines as people quickly found out he was "nobody" and moved on. But now he was finally enjoying himself and Kaname felt like – as if he didn't know it would be completely irrational and possessive - he would make Zero stay next to him all night. But it was...

"That's so precious! I hope to have kids of my own soon and I hope they are just like yours. Please excuse me; I see something that requires my attention."

Kaname smiled and left, heading after Zero who had taken Ayu's drink and disappeared towards the back of the house...

**ZERO** crossed the quiet kitchen to where he knew there was a blender, only interrupting his trek to raid the fridge. He was well acquainted with things already, his having explored the house when he should have been asleep. The house was quite a bit bigger than the New York house but now Zero saw why, as he recalled the packed living room and terrace of the party. He looked out over the gorgeous view of the city and started on the ingredients, on his way to making the "Sex on the Beach" drink he was telling Ayu about, having thrown the travesty she had ended up with down the sink. He was talking to Ayu. Ayu!! Anyway, once he got over that fact, he realised the night may not be so bad after all. She was actually very nice.

"We have caterers and wait staff to serve drinks, you know." Kaname drawled, a part of him satisfied that he nearly startled Zero into spilling the liquor on the floor.

"Kaname! I wish you wouldn't do that..."

"Did you hear me? Come back to the party."

"In a minute. I am making something for Ayu. My God, Kaname! She is more beautiful in person. I can't believe this is happening! I've listened to all her records...!"

"So that's the sort of music you like? No wonder you don't understand mine."

Zero sighed and turned on the blender, drowning the conversation deliberately. Kaname had been like this since the blood sharing incident in New York. Puerile, dictatorial and just a shade under hostile... Zero found he could cope if he ignored him.

"Shit!! Kaname!"

Zero cried out as the blender cracked open and the contents spilled out over the counter. Despair etched Zero's features as his chance to really impress Ayu flew out the window.

"She can go to the bar. You aren't here to work."

"You god-damned bastard!" Zero rounded on Kaname, his eyes sparking in fury, "You knew it wasn't about working...!"

"What are you so angry about?" Kaname asked, coolly calm as he approached Zero, "Is it because you thought you had a chance with her and I blew it?"

Zero scowled at the piece crap before him and pushed to leave but was planted back against the counter. Kaname moved closer and pressed against him, his eyes melting as he took in the vision that Zero was...

"You look fantastic." Kaname breathed, his face inches from Zero's, "I can't take my eyes off you."

The scowl quickly left Zero's face to be replaced by embarrassment. Kaname _was_ letting him know just how much he liked his new look. Zero shifted to alleviate the pressure but Kaname followed him, pressing his hardness against him again, making a soft purring sound as the friction caused the usual effects inside him.

"Kaname, stop this! What if someone comes in and sees?"

"And what if they do?" Kaname challenged, the irritation and jealousy returning to his voice.

"It'll look like..."

"We're 'involved'? Like I want to take you upstairs and fuck you until beg for mercy? That would be accurate."

Zero was stunned into silence. He looked away from Kaname's dark eyes and how they looked at him. Like he was a steak platter. Zero tried to push away again, but Kaname easily thwarted him.

"Kaname we have been over this. Nothing has changed! I am not interested...!"

"I like what he did with your hair. I love this jersey top on you. It makes me wish I was the material."

"Kaname! Please, I have to...!"

"Christ..."

Kaname fell forward and captured Zero's lips and kissed him, his body pressing into him hungrily, his hands enveloping him and roaming over the soft, snug material. He threaded his fingers into Zero's hair, cupping his head gently but firmly into his careful plundering of Zero's mouth. Kaname groaned as Zero's flavour hit his tongue. It was what he had been dying to do since Zero had first walked out in this ensemble. Kaname ground his hips into Zero, imagining he was thrusting into him and trembled. Zero stiffened for a moment and then began to push. Clenching his teeth he bit Kaname, trying to get him to withdraw but...

Kaname took a swift intake of breath and moaned as he felt Zero's teeth sink into him. He pulled away. Not because it had hurt but because Zero had inadvertently tipped Kaname over the edge into no return, his body instantly responding. Kaname was a pure vampire and a bite by someone he was attracted to was extremely suggestive of naked intimacy. Of pleasure and blood. He knew he would love the feel of Zero's teeth inside him but had been waiting for the right time, when he could trust him. It was something he would give himself over to entirely. The pleasure, he was sure, would overwhelm him and he needed to know that Zero would not take advantage when that happened. Thus, it was a weakness and he protected it. But he longed to indulge himself. Just like a teenage boy fantasizes about a centrefold. That nip Zero had just made at his lip... It had already healed but Kaname was already longing for more. Much more. That situation and the one in his pants were inextricably linked and becoming urgent...

Kaname stood watching Zero, panting, trying to think where he should do it, considering he was way beyond wondering if he should. He thought about undressing Zero here and now or whether he should haul him upstairs. As he hesitated, Zero recovered enough to think of escape. He shoved hard against Kaname again and found himself free. He ran towards the door... and was slammed into it.

Zero cried out in pain as his lip and teeth made painful contact with the door. He was whipped around and lips met his, cleaning and sucking insatiably. Zero began to fight. No! He didn't want to do this...

"You animal! Get away from me! Kaname...!!"

Zero started to thump Kaname hard on the shoulders and back, his arms trapped in their range by the way Kaname was holding him. Could no-one hear him? Was the music that loud? Kaname lifted his head and caught Zero's hands. He spun and threw him onto the kitchen floor. Zero fell heavily and skidded the length to a far cupboard. He lay on the floor, winded by the toss.

"Look at you. Are you that anxious to get into her pants? Aren't you are forgetting one thing? You are mine. Mine! I have been too soft on you. Hoping you would look kindly on me but I see I am spoiling you. This is what you should be doing. This is what you were made for. You have no right to look at anyone beyond me. No-one..."

Suddenly Kaname was on top of him. Zero felt the jersey rip as Kaname's eager hands opened it, his questing tongue laving Zero's chest and torso hungrily. Zero struggled but it was no use. Kaname was too strong. His hands were pinned and he felt his pants come undone...

"Please, Kaname not here. Please..." Zero begged, twisting.

Kaname found Zero's tearful pleas had the opposite effect on him. Zero's pain excited him, his struggles egged him on. Especially since Zero had been looking down his nose at him ever since he had arrived. Monster? _Animal?_

Kaname sat up and tugged at the jeans he had spent a small fortune on earlier, tearing it away from Zero's slim pale hips, the sight of them making Kaname harder than he thought possible. He groaned as he dipped his head to kiss them before paying homage to Zero's limp flesh. He tugged mindlessly hoping Zero would respond, praying... God!! Didn't he know how much he literally drove him crazy? He spread Zero's legs and began to lick everything he could see, paying close attention to the preparation of where he wanted to be, his tongue probing urgently. He had been quite serious about making Zero beg... Zero fought again as he realised that Kaname was preparing to take him, right here on the damned kitchen floor with a party outside. He raked his fingernails along Kaname's shoulders and arms drawing blood. Kaname lifted his head and directed a heated look in his direction.

"Oh, you'll learn it is not the best idea to do that to me..."

"Not here, _please_! I will never forgive you..."

"God, you are so hot. So hot..." Kaname almost sobbed. His body ached to join with him. He lifted himself and rolled Zero onto his stomach, pinning him with one hand. Zero heard him removing his belt... and whimpered as if in pain.

"I'm begging you, Zero. Please, I need this. Please..."

"No! I don't want this...!"

"Kaname!! Are you in there?"

Kaname stiffened as he heard... her voice. He lifted his head and looked back towards the door as if someone had walked over his grave.

"What the hell?" Kaname half turned and Zero kicked free grabbing the shreds of his clothing and crawling over into a far corner of the kitchen, trembling. His eyes were filled with frustrated tears and fear. He glared daggers at Kaname who was still trying to gather his wits. He looked at Zero's tear-stain face and seemed to catch himself quite belatedly. What was he doing? What wrong with him?

"Kaname? Come on. I know you are in there. You can't avoid me like this. Get off the starlet and come say hello to me."

Kaname pulled his eyes away from Zero's and rubbed his face hard, his breaths still coming in pants as his body still singed with need. He looked back at Zero's bruised, naked body and struggled to find the will to get to his feet. He buttoned his pants and redid his belt, smoothing the dark shirt over himself. He then headed for the door.

"Don't move. I'll be back with some clothes."

"Fuck you! I hate you!"

Kaname's fists bunched as he fought for control.

"...I'll be back with some clothes."

"**KANAME!!** Just like you to desert a party you are hosting for more pleasurable pursuits. I should know...!"

"What are you doing here, Seiren?" Kaname demanded, pulling her away from the door in case Zero heard them. "Is your alimony cheque five minutes late again?"

"Kaname, you are so droll. No, I heard you were having a party and I dropped by. We are practically neighbours now..."

"What?!" Kaname exclaimed, truly flabbergasted. He made sure he stayed at least a hundred miles from her always. There were people that checked these things...

"Don't you just love this area? The view is fantastic. I bought a house near here in celebration of my last album going quadruple platinum..."

Kaname whimpered to himself and leant into the wall. He was paying for that moment of madness he'd had two years ago in spades. He rued the day he met her at a party in Osaka, each and every time he had to write that cheque each month. She knew it, of course, taking particular delight in finding ways to make his life just a little less bearable. True, he had been the one to break it off three months later when he had realised it wouldn't work. It had been a laugh to marry one of the biggest stars on the pop scene and a good friend. Kaname knew that his star had risen meteorically as a result – it had played a part in his decision. He had also thought he loved her. The sex was incredible. She could do things with their bodies that had to be illegal in some countries. Plus, he had liked the idea of not being alone. But he didn't trust her with his secret and though he thought he could hide it from her, he soon realised the subterfuge was breaking him apart and hurting her as well. She knew there was something he was hiding, sure it was another woman. But he couldn't tell her... Kaname soon realised he felt more alone than ever. So, he filed for a divorce three months later and has been paying for it ever since. With money and inconvenient appearances when he least expected it. Like now...

"Strange. I don't smell her perfume."

"That's because it wasn't a she." Kaname replied, hoping to shock her into leaving.

"Oh! Kaname!! You are so funny...!"

"What do you want? I am quite busy. And I have told you repeatedly to call me _Ken_..."

"Well, it's simple really. I want you..." Seiren paused as she opened the fur coat she was still wearing to show the tight, naked, nubile body she was famous for. She smiled a little as Kaname's response was instantaneous. Predictable.

"No, I..." Kaname shook his head as he was suddenly robbed of coherent thought.

"Come on. For old time's sake. We'll be quick," Seiren moaned, walking up to Kaname and touching his stiff package, "I know you want to. I know what you need..."

Kaname picked her up and headed for the back stairway, away from the party. Suddenly he felt like burying his cares and guilt and... something else, deep inside her.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampire Knight"._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_by lightpathetic_

"Who's Zero?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Who's that?"

Kaname rolled away from her to lie on his side, still trying to come down, his body still recovering as he took deep breaths. His eyes though registered a brief flash of pain before he turned back to her.

"Just a bit of Japanese nonsense. I know you like..."

"Bull. I know when you are whispering sweet nothings in Japanese. That's a person's name. A person... you're in love with..."

"You're crazy. It's one of the reasons I left you." Kaname snapped, sitting up and moving to get off the bed. Seiren sighed and lay back, ignoring what she knew was a cue to get up and get lost. Kaname got cruel when he wanted space, when a subject was too sensitive for him to talk about. She had long learned to stop getting angry and hurt and just grow calmer and quieter. Sometimes he would talk, sometimes he wouldn't.

"I may be crazy. About you. But I am not crazy about this. It was the way you looked when you said it. What's the matter? Is she married? Is she a lesbian?"

"Will you leave? God, you are like a tenacious, _unwanted_ barnacle."

Seiren smiled. She was getting warmer. She sat up and languidly stretched as if in no hurry, just to annoy him. She knew she was right. Her mind went back to Kaname, when he was beneath her... God, he was sexy. She loved when he would lose himself like that. His beautiful eyes closed, the half moon of his long lashes fanning his pale cheeks, his mouth open as he coped with his intense pleasure. He was exquisite. It truly made her feel sexy when Kaname zoned out like that. He behaved like he was going through the best sex in the world. But that was Kaname, utterly hedonistic. He threw himself into his pleasures like a little boy into his favourite toy: forgetting everyone and everything else. As she milked his engorged member slowly and deliberately, she watched as Kaname writhed and arched, his head twisting on his long, beautiful neck, his hands roaming her body or weakly pressing against her as if begging her wordlessly to stop but at the same time needing her to continue. When Seiren had first seen this she had known she would be his slave forever, that she always wanted to take care of him. She had proposed right after one of these times a couple years ago and had nearly died when Kaname had said "yes". Nearly died of happiness. She was still in love with this jerk. It hurt that he was in love with another. But Seiren hid her pain carefully, not letting him see it since the ugly battle in court. It wasn't to be. She knew that. Now all she could hope for was his happiness. Now, as her mind recalled Kaname as he bucked beneath her, his eyes closed but the irises rolling restlessly under the lids, whispering a name, begging them to fuck him, as he slammed his hips hard into her. Totally lost, totally gone...

"It is so good to see that you are actually capable of the emotion, darling. Though to find out like this... Do I feel like her?" Seiren couldn't resist taunting him a bit. She was a flesh and blood female after all.

Kaname finished in the bathroom and came back in to retrieve his clothes, ignoring her. Oh, that's right, he had to bring some for Zero as well. Kaname thought of letting him continue to stew. He was still angry, still hurt. He had enjoyed screwing Seiren, knowing Zero was naked in the kitchen waiting for him. He deserved it. So impossible, so hostile despite everything he had done for him, despite how he felt... Kaname paused as he slipped on his shoes. He really hadn't remembered saying his name. He knew that there was a time when he had desperately pictured Zero was on top of him. That he was finally inside of him, his tight, hot flesh squeezing him as he completely lost it...

"Kaname?" Seiren called quietly as Kaname seemed to have frozen to the spot.

"Are you still here?" Kaname asked gruffly.

"Remember what I promised you? Do you remember?"

Kaname hissed in irritation and continued to put on his shoes.

"Of course not. I can't remember every little thing you say..."

"That I would leave you alone if you ever truly fell in love? I would stop the payments and stop harassing you, because then you would truly know the misery I felt? Of course, at the time, I didn't think you had a heart..."

"What the hell are you on about?" Kaname demanded turning to her but not quite able to remove the pain and confusion that shone in his eyes. Seiren saw it though. She nodded and smiled, though a part of her simply died. She rose quickly wanting to be in the shower when her tears fell.

"Congratulations. I... want to meet her! She must be truly amazing. Excuse me; I've got to go to the little girl's room."

Kaname watched Seiren's escape and turned away towards the door grabbing some clothes from the wardrobe as he passed it. He wasn't a fool. He knew how she felt about him. But there was nothing to be done about the past and even less he could do to make her stop loving him. All he could do was ignore her distress and leave as he had always done.

**KANAME** came to the door and touched it, his mind reaching to undo the lock. He steeled himself to meet Zero's hostile gaze, knowing he had hurt him terribly. Kaname had begun to feel disgusted with himself. It was like there were two persons inside of him. One the raging pure-blood who saw Zero as his property and wanted to bend him to his will, and the other this love-sick idiot that wanted Zero's kindness, love and happiness. The latter stood at the door now, cringing at the thought of what he would find.

Kaname pushed the door but realised immediately what his eyes would see, Zero's scent didn't hit him as strongly as it should have...

"Son of a bitch!"

"Hey! Looking for that strange kid?"

Kaname rounded on the source of the voice but kept his voice level, his fear at bay.

"Yes. Have you seen him?"

"Who didn't? He ran out the door an hour ago like a bat out of hell, clutching some rags to him. Weird. We are still wondering how he got like that. I have dibs that it was a stunt..."

**ZERO** careened around the corner and barely straightened the car before he ploughed into a large evergreen. He still had tears in his eyes and a desperate disposition, so he was a tad reckless in his driving, though his reflexes made up for it in spades. His... vampire reflexes.

"Fuck you. Fuck you..." Zero sobbed.

Zero winged another tree and just avoided an oncoming car. God! He'd nearly killed himself! Killed... himself... No, he would try to escape first. He would go to the police and explain that this man was holding him hostage and that he had threatened to kill his girlfriend. He could show them his bruises, his teeth marks. They would believe him. He had noted where there was a police department earlier when Kaname had taken him shopping. He would go there. He looked like an assault victim. They would take him seriously. Or if not, they would help him get away. Get Kaname to see reason. He wasn't a slave; he couldn't force him to stay with him. Force him to... have sex with him. Zero shuddered at what had almost happened. He really was a monster. He really was...

Zero finally came out onto the highway and screeched left, flooring the gas pedal. Right now he hoped he got pulled over. The sooner he was in custody the better. He had lost precious time trying to hot wire a car that wasn't blocked in the fairly sizeable but still inadequate parking area. He had done it before, years ago, but only just remembered what to do. Zero trembled as he saw a car behind him but relaxed as he saw a woman in the driver's seat. Come on, Zero thought, the cops always pulled you over in the American movies he watched. Where were they when you needed them?

Zero screamed like a little girl as he felt and heard something land on the roof. He looked comically out the window as if to see what it was.

"Zero..."

Zero whipped around to his right and saw the dreaded face peer at him through the glass. Zero screamed again and pressed the brakes suddenly, totally oblivious to the fast moving traffic behind him. He hoped to throw him off...

Zero saw a dark figure hurdle out in front of him. He saw it get up and step in front of the car...

Zero revved the engine and dug off, aiming at the creature full on. He winced as the car hit something and ran over it. But he didn't stop; peeling tires trying hard for purchase on the black top as Zero righted his course and headed with speed towards the lights, still shaking. No, don't think about it. Don't worry about it. Send an ambulance back when he was safe. When...

The window in the back of the car broke and Zero momentarily lost control in his fright.

"God-dammit! Will you stop the car before you get these people killed?"

Zero screamed and threw the wheel right. He headed for the railing at the side of the road, hoping to remove Kaname before he could get into the car. He waited to spin the wheel left but it stuck. They were going through the railing...

"Oh Shit!!" Zero yelled, closing his eyes and grimacing in preparation for what he knew would come. He only prayed he would take the bastard with him. His fervent hope was to at least do the earth some good.

Zero eventually felt the car tilt upwards. He smashed his hand into the steering wheel causing it the crack. He refused to look out at what his body was already telling him. Meanwhile the car door opened and closed on the passenger side.

"You don't mind if I drive? I can't let you total Clay's car. He really loves this Rolls..."

"Why... don't... you... go to hell." Zero sobbed his body trembling again. Why? Why did it have to be like this?

Kaname looked at Zero's trembling body and squashed the urge to touch him. He knew it would send him nuts in this state. He "pushed" the car beneath the over-pass and into some trees to where he knew there was a fairly secluded road nearby he could land upon and drive out of. Landing back on the highway didn't appeal to him.

Once they were landed, Kaname exited the car and walked around to the other side of the car. He opened the door and Zero got out and bolted into the clearing opposite. Kaname caught him easily, tackling him and turning him over to face him.

"Noooo!! Noooo!!!"

"Zero. I'm sorry!! Do you hear me? I am sorry! It was a horrible thing I did. I don't blame you if you never forgive me, but I am asking you to understand that I never meant to hurt you. It was just that I got so frustrated and you were so cold. You don't know what it is like to have so much power over something and want it so much. It is so easy to just _take_ it. I got angry and I got carried away and I hurt you. But that's only because... I love you. I am in love with you. You have more power over me than anyone else in the world. My happiness is in your two hands and I resented it. And it made me crazy. Please understand. I will never do that to you again. Please, please understand..."

"Fuck you!! I hate you!! Get off of me! I wish you were dead!! I wish I could kill you. You ruined my life!! You ruin my god-damned life!!!"

"No!! Zero, please, you are my life and I firmly believe I am yours. I know if you give me a chance, I will make you happy beyond your wildest..."

"No!! You fucking bastard!!!"

Zero continued to scream and struggle and Kaname eventually stopped trying to talk to him. Zero's pain was robbing him of his will and life. Kaname found the pale moonlit scene began to blur and he blinked to find his face was wet. He trembled as he held Zero's tiring form and his eyes suddenly lost their pain as they became dead, reflecting what was going on inside him.

Zero's struggles began to die a Kaname reached up to hold his head still. He leaned into it and breathed deeply, muttering softly to calm himself so he could concentrate. Zero's eyes looked around in confusion, and then he frowned...

"No!! I know what you are..."

Zero went limp and Kaname stood and picked him up to take him to the car. He placed him carefully inside the passenger seat and closed the door. Then he leapt over the car to the driver's side. He stood for a moment with his hand on the door and then looked up at moon.

"I will make it up to him. For what I took he will get back ten-fold. I know I can make him love me. I _know_ it." Kaname begged, as if bargaining with someone greater than himself. Kaname steeled himself and got into the car. He buckled Zero's unconscious form in, and, after stroking his hair gently, sped off into the night.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampire Knight"._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_by lightpathetic_

"**KANAME!"**

Kaname opened his eyes and peered sleepily at Zero. He lifted his eyes a tad to the clock, which confirmed what his body was already telling him. It was minutes to two in the afternoon. He closed his eyes again only rolling off Zero's shoulder to settle beside him, quickly heading towards unconsciousness again. Sometimes it sucked sleeping with other people.

"Kaname! What are you doing in here?"

Kaname groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. He couldn't stand being up during the day...

Kaname lifted his head and rolled back to Zero, behaving as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Zero... How are you feeling?"

"Alright. Just a bit hung-over. Why are you in here? ...Naked?" Zero demanded, the censorial tone hard to miss.

"It was just easier than going to my room, that's all. What's the matter? You've seen me naked before."

"Unfortunately. Why are you in here? You never give up do you? I am seriously thinking of kicking your ass...!"

"Shhh!! Too loud!!" Kaname held his head, grimacing as pain shot through it. He was hung over too. When he had brought Zero back and put him to bed, he had made a point of getting completely smashed. He just couldn't handle his own company just then. It was probably why he had agreed to let so many people stay over.

"We have guests. Some are in my room. I thought I would come and share with you. They are probably gone now, but you never know with some people..."

"Alright. Well I guess that makes sense. Sorry to snap at you."

"Don't mention it, Zero." Kaname said before grabbing Zero head and snatching his lips in a kiss, which he quickly deepened. He began to press body against Zero's own nudity, his legs and feet sliding restlessly up and down Zero's own...

Zero fought and pushed at Kaname, who eventually lifted his head.

"What are you doing?! Get off of me!"

"Just letting you know you are right. I never give up."

"Kaname...!"

Kaname released Zero and sat up, needing to put some space between them for both their sakes.

"Your lip isn't quite healed yet. I wanted to help with the pain."

"My lip?"

Zero raised one hand to touch his lip, only then noticing the rough edges of a cut.

"How...?"

"You hit yourself with a door. You were very drunk last night. Don't... don't you remember?" Kaname asked turning to watch Zero closely.

"Drunk? I don't remember it at all. The last thing I remember was..."

"Yes?"

"...Your video. I mean, I remember it starting but not the ending. It's the oddest thing..."

"Well you were going into the sauce pretty good. I remember you were off alone quite a bit..."

"Oh yes. I remember. I guess that is to be expected. People weren't there to see me..."

"No they weren't. The next time you should stay closer to me, to save yourself and me the embarrassment. I expected a lot better from you." Kaname said sternly, still looking over his shoulder at Zero. He watched as Zero collapsed into confusion, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... embarrass you."

"It's too late for that. You should have thought of that before you got undressed and ran half naked through the party..."

"I... What!?"

"Do you remember what happened to cause that?"

"No... No. I..."

"Fine. I will definitely need to monitor you closely from now on. You are to stay by my side on such occasions from now on. I insist on this. Understand?"

"Yes! Yes, I understand. I am very sorry. I can't believe I did that. I am normally very careful..."

"That's okay. As long as it won't happen again." Kaname got to his feet and stretched. He could still see daylight but he was wide awake now. No sense in idling about.

"I'm going to fix breakfast. I might as well start my day now that you have woken me up."

Kaname pulled on a robe and headed for the door. He paused and looked back at the miserable and confused face of Zero Kiriyuu, his eyes going lower to the still visible bruises and cuts on his skin. Zero was in need of blood to heal quickly. Now that he had made his point he was inclined to feed him.

"Here."

Kaname walked back to the bed and sat. He just visibly trembled as he held his wrist out to Zero. The thought of Zero's teeth in his skin, his drawing his blood was already making his nuts.

"No. I'll be okay. I told you, there is no point in my feeding you if you do this..."

"Why won't you drink from me? You... don't like my blood?"

"It's not that. It is just that _I_ can handle being... 'hungry'..."

"And I can't?"

"I'd prefer if you weren't..."

Kaname got to his feet and suddenly he laughed. Zero looked up at him, determined to let nothing sway him. Kaname wouldn't attack anyone if he wasn't starving. He wouldn't kill. Zero felt better couching his generosity in these terms. Rather than because he had felt sorry for this creature.

"I see. I think I see very well. You want to be in place of some other poor unfortunate, hmmm? You would rather I drink from you than go out and kill someone. How noble. What a service for mankind! And here I was thinking you cared..."

"Why are you so angry? Didn't you say you liked my blood? What does it matter why I offer it?"

"But aren't you forgetting something? I can't feed from you forever. Sooner or later you will have to replenish yourself. I won't let you die."

"Well it can be later. It will just mean some pain and I will heal at a slower rate. But I am used to it."

Kaname stood and stared at Zero a long time. He could make him drink, but he thought of something much better. Finally he spun on his heel and headed towards the door. He placed his hand on the knob and turned back to Zero.

"You can't stop me from hunting, Zero. I'll prove it to you. Next week we'll go back to Japan. I don't normally hunt so soon after a kill but I guess I am eating for two now. I'm sure I can find someone whose blood you can condescend to drinking. Maybe a woman this time..."

"No! Wait! Kaname! That's not what I...!"

"Too late." Kaname drawled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he ruthlessly drew blood of a different sort, "I am already looking forward to it."

"**KEN!!!"**

"AHHHH!!!"

Zero sat in a tiny "reserved" section – meaning a small, roped section of seats just offstage – and plugged his ears as thousands of people screamed his name, and literally just screamed. Zero thought of all the other places he could be this very moment and sighed as a piece of underwear landed in his lap. He looked at it in something between fright and disgust but the object slid off his knee and rolled to the edge of the stage. Zero frowned at the odd behaviour then looked up to see Kaname wink at him mid-song and then walk over to a particularly boisterous group to tease them. Zero looked away and went back into his sulk, his scowl firmly in place. It was too warm, too noisy, too crowded. He felt drained and irritable. And he hated Kaname right now with a passion. It wasn't just because he had them booked to go back to Japan tomorrow. It wasn't just because of the other issues like kidnapping and forced imprisonment. It was just that he really was a temperamental, prima donna bastard...

"_Zero! You would think you would get an order such as a glass of Evian at room temperature right. What is this? It's ice-cold!! And where's the hint of lemon I asked for? God, you are such a moron!! Clyde! I can see that light is going to be in my eyes...!" _

Zero's scowl began from then on, as he stuck the glass under the tap and dropped it on Kaname's dressing table with a slice of lemon before heading outside for some air, ignoring Kaname's order that he stay nearby at all times. Zero had his limits. Being yelled at just because the water was a degree or two off was one of them.

But man, was he exceptional. Even Zero in his sulk and in the throes of disgust at the screaming people behind him, could see that Kaname was indeed a star. He thrived on the adulation and on what he did. Even Zero could tell that everything was perfectly orchestrated, right down to the growl he gave at the end of his third selection that had sent the first volley of unmentionables. Zero would have enjoyed it if he had come with his girlfriend for a nice night out. Kaname was very charismatic and some of his jokes weren't bad. Zero loved the one where he would enthusiastically "steal" the electric guitar and the guitarist would chase him while he played it, finally retrieving it with a rather dirty look and ruder gestures. It always got a good response. But he couldn't forget his circumstances. Even his conversations were being monitored. Oh yes. Zero was under no illusions. When he had had that conversation about a song Kaname was singing in that club in East L.A., Kaname had confronted him about it later. He was such a child...

"Thank you. You have been a great audience! I feel so at home here in Los Angeles..."

Kaname was cut off by a huge uproar, and Zero groaned as his headache got worse.

"It's time to go. But before that, I want to leave you with this one. A personal favourite of a good friend of mine..."

Zero switched butt-cheeks and settled in to wait another few minutes, thinking Kaname would want more water and a large chocolate bar – Zero was surprised Kaname ate so much chocolate, but it made him happier so Zero made sure it was around. But he sat back up when he heard the refrain. Kaname... Kaname was going to sing... "Iris"?

"And I'd give up forever just to touch you..."

The crowd was just as surprised as Zero but soon settled to listen. Because Kaname was weaving a spell none of them could resist. Even Zero, especially as Kaname was looking right at him. As if...

"No... You never give up." Zero muttered, as he looked away from Kaname's brown gaze, wishing Kaname would turn elsewhere as people looked to see who he was singing to. Zero got up and ducked under the ropes, heading backstage as Kaname launched into the chorus, the talented band swelling to meet his change of key. They were leaving tomorrow for Japan. So Kaname could kill someone. Zero had begged and pleaded but... nothing. He was evil. Zero didn't want such evil wooing him.

"**ZERO..."**

"Your water is on the table. The chocolate bar is beside it."

Kaname came over to the bottle of water and opened it, taking one long drink. He then tore into the chocolate. He let loose one long yelp and Zero looked up from the magazine in surprise. Kaname held his gaze as Zero searched his face for explanation. But there was something dangerous about this mood Kaname was in. Zero could sense it he sat up in the chair and folded his arms, unconsciously getting on the defensive.

"What is it?"

Kaname didn't answer. Instead he let his eyes trail lower, seemingly undressing Zero, lingering on his crotch. Kaname's intentions were very clear.

"No..."

Zero made to get up but Kaname stopped him. He kneeled, placing his hand on Zero's chest to force him to stay seated. He stayed for a while looking into Zero's eyes. His eyes... So frantic, defensive. Kaname sighed. He had done this, he knew. He didn't know sometimes what pushed him to be deliberately cruel, especially now when he was trying to earn Zero's love. A part of him wanted to hurt Zero like he was hurting. It was petty and shallow but Zero's eyes widened in fear seemed to comfort him when he yearned for him most. But now, he couldn't stand it. He felt good. It had been one of his best performances and he wanted to share it with Zero. He wanted Zero to feel as good as he did. It was time to end their standoff. But how...?

"What do you want?" Zero finally asked again as Kaname seemed to freeze in place just staring. It was making him uncomfortable.

"To apologise. I've been an ass this last week. I shouldn't have treated you the way I have been. I want to change that."

Kaname saw Zero react in surprise and suspicion. Zero then looked away to wonder what he could be planning.

"I am not planning anything, though I am not saying that I won't exploit it later. I am an opportunistic bastard. But right now, all I wish is that you would see me as more than this monster you have to tolerate. I wish you could see more of what I am than that, especially since I..."

_Love you._

"...Like you very much and want us to be friends..."

"You have an odd way of showing it..."

"I'm sorry! It's just that I want you very much but when I look at you, you visibly cringe. It is... upsetting..."

"Kaname! What do you expect!! You've done nothing but force me to...!"

"Dammit Zero! You have to get past this. You have to! This constant harping on about your life and how I am destroying it is futile!! What is done is done...!"

"And you aren't the least bit sorry! You don't regret any of this at all!"

"Is that what you want? For me to apologise for choosing you as prey? Is this why you won't try to be happy...?"

"It isn't that simple! You still don't see what you are doing to me or you would let me go...!"

"And where would you go? Back to your dead-end job in Tokyo? Back to the girl? Do you think any of those people would look kindly on you when they find out what you have become? You think the girl would accept that you have to drink blood to live?"

"She would! She loves _me_."

"She loved the human you! The shy, sweet boy who ate her cooking and talked bravely of their future together where there would be children and a house and a settled, mundane, steady job. But the boy that would love and protect her forever is no more. You can't give her those things!! You can't even guarantee her safety. You hate to kill. Who do you think you will turn to for blood? How many times will you lie awake with your chest burning, watching her pulse for an eternity while you try to talk yourself out of taking just a little for the pain, knowing you would never stop at just a little...?"

"You are wrong! I can still give her the love she deserves! I can control myself! Unlike you I have a shred of decency...!"

Zero stopped, his eyes riveted by the sight, his chest protesting painfully at his restraint. Zero could feel his body change in preparation to drink what it desperately needed, his crimson eyes watching the blood drip onto the floor from Kaname's wrist. Zero closed them and moaned in sheer agony, already capitulating to the higher call of his nature. He sat up and closed in on Kaname's hand, pulling it away from where he was biting it to keep it bleeding. Kaname allowed Zero to remove his arm, watching as his starving charge placed his lips to the still bleeding marks, drawing on his blood as if the need inside him was too much to fill. But the marks closed quickly and Zero moaned in protest going to lick hungrily at what was already spilled, cleaning Kaname's hand.

"Bite me." Kaname whispered, "Bite my flesh. Go on."

Zero hesitated. His skin? Zero lifted his head and dropped the hand, suddenly coming to his senses. He couldn't believe how easy it had been, to ruin his control. To call forth the beast inside him.

"Excuse me. I need to go..."

Kaname "shoved" Zero back onto the chair and slapped him, causing Zero's eyes to flash not in fear but in anger. Good.

"You pussy! Come and get what you want!"

Kaname's claws shot out but he did nothing more than to carve a deep line into his neck. The blood spurted; some hitting Zero's face, then it drizzled lazily down Kaname's neck and into his shirt collar. Kaname removed his shirt so Zero could see it all, knowing the crimson cascade would be more than Zero could refuse in his heightened state.

"Come on." Kaname almost growled as his own body answered the call for blood, his fangs already protruding from his lips, his eyes a deep red. Zero watched Kaname's bloody neck and suddenly a hiss issued from him. He wasn't even aware of it. All he knew was that he would have given anything to sink his teeth in to Kaname's neck right now. Zero pushed off the chair and reached out but Kaname slapped his hands away and rubbed some of the blood onto Zero's face. Zero moaned as he grabbed it to lick it, but it too was pulled away before another annoying slap landed.

"What do you want, little girl?" Kaname taunted, "You want this? Are you man enough to _take_ it?"

Zero growled and lunged for Kaname who dodged quickly making Zero fall onto the makeup chair. Kaname laughed and caught Zero's flailing legs and pulled him onto the floor. He straddled him and dealt him another slap before raking his claws along Zero's torso. He was beginning to lose himself to the game. His eyes caught Zero's pain with relish before he bent to lick at the wounds. Jesus, Zero's blood was heaven...

Zero screamed and grabbed Kaname's hair, pulling his away from his chest, Kaname's face now covered in his blood. He pushed off the nearby chair and rolled them, forcing Kaname beneath him. Zero hissed again at his triumph before he dealt Kaname a punch to the face. Kaname groaned at the pain and the pleasure that made his body curl helplessly beneath Zero. Zero... The way he was... Kaname moaned as he looked up at Zero. He grabbed his lapels and pulled him down into a kiss, shaking as their lips met but Zero had others ideas. Quickly he caught Kaname's hands and pinned them to either side of his head.

"You... are _my_ prey." Zero rasped, before threading his fingers roughly into Kaname's hair and yanking his head to one side. Zero then dove onto Kaname's blood soaked neck and bit brutally, finally claiming his prize.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "VK"._


	12. Chapter 11b

Chapter 11b

_by lightpathetic_

**ZERO** finally drank his fill and removed his fangs from Kaname's neck. He sighed contentedly as his body seemed to vibrate from bliss. He had felt this way before when Kaname had first fed him. He really had been starving. He didn't even realise the import of where he was, just that it was warm and comforting, as he pushed his face into Kaname's neck, pressing his sweetly aching body into his. He didn't like the idea of parting from this spot.

Kaname reluctantly opened his eyes. His lids were heavy and he wanted to sleep but he knew he couldn't, not here on the floor of the club's dressing room like this. Even if Zero was in this delicious state and he loathed to stop him. Kaname reached up and caressed Zero's hair, his head rolling to nuzzle Zero's gently. His limbs felt so heavy, but he didn't even know if it was from blood loss or sheer ecstasy. Kaname would easily decide now that Zero taking him was one of the happiest moments of his life. He didn't even want him to stop...

"Zero. We have to go. We can't stay here."

Kaname whispered this near Zero's delicate ear, his lips disturbing the elaborate piercings. But Zero didn't move...

"Zero, I know, but we have to get up and I need you to help me. I am not strong enough to push you away right now." Kaname pleaded, certainly not talking about his physical strength. His other hand ran lower to cup Zero's ass into him. His body was beginning to feel a different hunger...

"Zero..." Kaname gasped as he felt it. Zero was licking his neck. Each broad stroke went right through is body to his toes. Kaname groaned and pushed Zero onto his back, rolling quickly on top of him.

Zero opened his eyes and seemed to suddenly recall himself.

"Kaname! Geez! I..."

Kaname dipped and kissed Zero, hating the words, wanting more of this peace. He nipped roughly at Zero's lips, before plundering his open mouth. Kaname moaned. His body... _Christ..._

Zero felt his clothes ripping away. He tried to stop Kaname.

"Wait!! I need...!"

"I know... what you need..."

Kaname covered Zero's torso in vigorous hungry kisses. He licked insatiably at Zero's skin, cleaning the blood, trying to get enough of his sweet taste. Zero tugged at Kaname's hair but Kaname ignored him, his eyes closed as he savoured what his senses told him. That Zero was weakening. Then Kaname reached his sensitive stomach.

"Shit..." Zero's muscles tensed, their definition rising through the skin as Kaname continued to lap at him.

"So beautiful. You are so beautiful like this. Zero..." Kaname moaned and tugged at Zero's jeans. He was gentler, opening the fastening slowly as he trailed his tongue close to where he knew Zero wanted him. Zero cried out as Kaname licked his stiff tip, opening his eyes to watch Kaname clean his engorged head of his fluids before sinking slowly onto it until it hit the back of his throat.

"AAHHHH!! UUnngh Shit...!!" Zero moaned, arching back as he impatiently pumped his hips, his bum rising off the floor as he rammed his stiff member down Kaname's throat. Kaname allowed Zero his way before he held his hips and began bob urgently, whipping Zero into a frenzy. Zero keened loudly as he approached climax but just before it came, Kaname lifted his head and squeezed him. Zero bucked as if a jolt of electricity was coursing through him.

"...Fucking bastard!" Zero moaned as he reached to take care of himself.

But Kaname wasn't having it. He smacked Zero's hand away as he sat up and undid his own belt, still pumping lazily but firmly as Zero writhed beneath him. Kaname stepped between Zero's legs and pulled them up, only releasing Zero to yank Zero's jeans further down his legs but not off completely. The briefs, though, became history in a flashed of blue material.

"Relax for me, Zero. Don't fight it."

"What?" Zero muttered, hardly aware of much else than the fact Kaname had resumed stroking him, even though the position was awkward. His knees were planted on his chest, with Kaname holding a bridge of jeans between them. But as Zero felt Kaname begin to lick and probe him, all thoughts of flew from his head. Oh God!! It felt so good!! His entire nether region was on fire. Kaname was playing him like that guitar on stage, his expert manipulations were making Zero crazy. Zero began to sob as Kaname started to fuck him hard with his tongue; the warm, long, wet softness dividing him sweetly again and again. Zero started to tremble as he approached the edge...

"Kaname!! Kaname!!!" Zero cried out as he was gripped by intense convulsions, his body shaking as it tripped over and over itself as he came. He could feel the hot results spill onto his stomach and into Kaname soft hand. Zero fell back on the floor dazed, his body still shuddering as Kaname continued to milk his body for every last drop. It had to be the best damned orgasm he had ever experienced. It had to be...

"Kaname... Holy Shit...!"

"You liked it? So did I. You are so hot. So hot..."

Kaname raised himself and grabbed a pillow from the chair, pushing it under Zero's sweet ass. Kaname then slid himself home without too much preamble. This is what he had been dying to do since he had first laid eyes on him. Since Zero had walked into his life and turned it upside down. Kaname eyes became riveted to the youth beneath him: looking at them where he was finally joined to his beloved and then roaming up to Zero's eyes. Zero looked at him in fear. What was this? He never wanted this!!

"No! Stop! Let go of me!!"

Kaname held Zero knees firmly, but nearly died as Zero inadvertently moved and squeezed. Kaname gasped as Zero heat sucked on his tender, pulsating flesh, biting off a moan of sheer delight.

"Not a chance. But I promise you, by the time I am finished, you will beg me not to stop..."

"Let go!! I don't care!! I am not your bitch...!"

"No. I am yours. God, Zero..."

Kaname couldn't hold off any longer. He closed his eyes and pushed Zero's knees over his head, immobilising him, making him more vulnerable. He held him easily as he began a slow stroke that soon grew faster as Kaname lost himself to the sensation of being inside Zero, of making love to him. He groaned as his sweetly aching flesh was squeezed, as Zero's tight, hot ass seemed to seduce him, making him want to go deeper. Making him want to join with him forever.

"Zero. Zero, my love..." Kaname cried, his body alive. Needy.

"Kaname! Kaname, please..."

Zero had tried to fight but Kaname was too strong. Then it became like he was fighting himself. His already sensitive flesh seemed to welcome Kaname easily. His body soon responding to his invasion, the tissues seeming to meet each thrust, rejoicing in the exquisite friction as wave upon wave of pleasure radiated from his core to his extremities. But it was more than that. More than Kaname's pounding of his already sensitive nub that seemed greedy for attention after his last orgasm and made him quickly aim for another. It was Kaname... It was his sheer delight. It wasn't malice but a joy in something he had long wanted and finally obtained.

"Zero... UNNNNGGGHHH!!!" Kaname panted as he grew close. Zero's foot hit him accidentally but he caught it and began to suck at the tender toes, suddenly hungry for everything about him...

"Kaname!! I'm...!!" Zero's head hit the floor as the thrill of something spectacular coursed through him. He screamed and begged as his entire being shook hard, as his toes curled tightly, even in Kaname's mouth. Kaname close his eyes to the sight of Zero's intense pleasure beneath him, but it was too late. His own climax was ripped from him.

"Fuck!!" Kaname fell forward and pushed deeper, making sure he was as connected as he could be as he made Zero his own, spilling his seed into him. Kaname moved one of his hands from the floor and pressed Zero's stomach where he made his claim. He moaned as he pumped a little until he was spent. He wanted Zero to take it all...

Kaname "snapped" the jeans in two and lay on Zero, unwilling to withdraw from his possession. He pulled him into his arms, and held him, the fingers of one hand snaking into Zero's hair.

"I love you... so much... I love you."

Zero's eyes slid open from his own private lethargy. He twisted to look at Kaname properly. Kaname held his gaze, communicating what he couldn't say with his eyes.

"Let me up. Let... go..." Zero faltered as he realised what that would entail. God, he was embarrassed. He couldn't believe he did this.

"Zero, wait! I don't expect..."

"...Me to return your feelings? Good. Because I don't. Let go of me."

Zero began to push at Kaname, trying to pull away from the, uh, delicate situation. Kaname held him though.

"Zero, stop this. You don't have to keep pushing me away. It makes no sense. You don't have to feel threatened by my feelings for you. I just want you to know that this wasn't just sex to me. That it was a dream come true..."

"So what? Do you expect me to feel better about what you have done? Do you expect me to just forget...?"

"No! I just want you to know that I would rather die than hurt you; that I would give anything for your kindness. That when you smile at me my whole being quakes. And when you kiss me I am whole. I wanted you to know because I can't hide it anymore and all I ask is that you thread carefully. That you be gentle with what I have given you. Please give this a chance..."

"Screw you. Get off of me!!" Zero screamed.

"Mr. Ken is everything alright in there?"

"Yes!! Go away!!" Ken snarled, Zero's rejection making him vicious. He knew they had been in here a long time. People would be waiting at the after party for him. But he didn't want to move. He felt he would never return to this spot if he left it. Besides he wanted to make Zero understand. Completely.

"I am never letting you go. You are mine and I will prove it to you. You are in no position to give me orders. Only requests. You can ask me to get off of you and I may have been inclined to grant it. But since you didn't then I will do as I like with my property..."

"No! Stop it!" Zero cried as he felt Kaname begin to move inside him. Zero pushed and slapped but Kaname pinned his hands, his face tauntingly inches from Zero's.

"I will take what I want from my property. Is that what you want Zero? Instead of a lover you want me to treat you like this? Like cattle for my own pleasure? You want me to use you and throw you away like I should have done?"

"No! Stop it! Please...!"

"Too late for requests. I only take those from my lover."

Kaname sat up and began to drive himself into Zero mercilessly, ignoring the drying fluids and the consequent pain. Zero cried and writhed... then Kaname released him. Zero was momentarily stunned by the difference. One moment he was being held down, the next Kaname was standing over him offering his hand.

"Let me... help you up..."

Zero slapped away Kaname's hand and rolled onto his side. But Kaname "picked" him up. He reached out and pulled away Zero's ruined clothes and then went over to his wardrobe case for a costume. He selected one and turned to where Zero had "followed" him.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I can't seem to help myself sometimes. Here, you can wear these until we get home."

Zero took the clothes, still shaking a little, refusing to meet Kaname's gaze. Kaname sighed.

"I am just as disappointed in myself, Zero. Here I am asking you to be kind to me and yet I pull shit like that. I was hurt by your words but it is no excuse for an intelligent being like myself. Here I'll help you."

"No, I can manage."

Kaname frowned a little but forced himself to respect Zero's wishes. He "released" him and turned back to get something for himself.

"We have to go. You can use the bathroom first. I'll wait."

Zero disappeared into it and closed the door. He stepped into the shower and turned the water on full blast, still shaking a little from this morning's events. It was too much to take in. He had bitten Kaname, then they had... and then he had confessed... Confessed. Then he had been so cruel... He had confessed! His love...

Zero rubbed his skin of the blood and other fluids, thinking. What did he do with this? What should he do? He loved Yuuki. He wanted her, but he was a vampire. Kaname had gotten him to respond in kind so easily. It frightened him to think about his being hungry and around her. Kaname was right. He wasn't the same boy. He wasn't who Yuuki was in love with. Then who was he? What did he do now?

"Zero?"

"Alright!! Hold your horses!!" Zero snapped. He took the soap and began to clean himself... everywhere. Zero felt a forbidden thrill as he touched the tender place Kaname had been exploiting gleefully not ten minutes ago. It disturbed him how much he had liked it. He swore it would never happen again. Kaname had forced him. He had...

Zero turned off the water and stepped out taking a towel and wrapping it around him. He walked over to the mirror and looked into it. He looked like he felt. Great. He didn't even remember how much of Kaname's blood he drank, he just knew that there had been plenty and he wasn't hungry... Kaname...!

Zero pulled open the door and looked around for Kaname. He didn't...

"Oh! Have you finished...?"

"How do you feel? Are you okay?"

"...Yes. What's the matter?"

"I drank... I drank a lot of your blood. Can you... manage?"

"Yes. We are going home tomorrow. I can hold on until then. Or are you offering for a different reason?" Kaname smiled, his eyes travelling the length of Zero's dripping, wet body.

"Screw you." Zero spat and ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door.

"No. Screw _you_, my love." Kaname whispered, his body awakening at the memory as his eyes focused on Zero's luscious, retreating bum. That was an experience he would definitely repeat.

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "VK"._


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

By lightpathetic

**KANAME** opened the door and let Zero in, closing it behind them both. Zero, without a word, stalked up the short flight of stairs into the bedroom and dropped his bag, then walked out onto the balcony, after yanking the newly repaired doors open with some violence. Kaname followed him at a more sedate pace, with a bit of apprehension, moving to wrap his arms around Zero's torso to hold him, pressing his body into him, his face into his neck, melting...

"Kaname! Just leave me alone for a moment!"

Dammit! Couldn't he take a hint! On the plane, in the car... Kaname's constant need to touch him was getting him down. Couldn't he understand he was angry?

Kaname reluctantly disentangled himself but he came to lean on the railing next to Zero, still not letting Zero completely have his way, but only because he couldn't bring himself to separate from him. They gazed out over Tokyo for a long time in silence.

"I'm sorry."

"I know! Okay?! I know! Now leave me alone! I need a moment to myself! I've had one hell of a day. Do you understand?!"

"Yes. I do..."

"I was cornered and helpless and I _hate_ feeling that way! The way they looked at me, like I was dirt, a criminal..."

"I did call the lawyer as soon as you were led away at the airport but they wouldn't let her in to see you. This stupid terrorist paranoia..."

"But they were terrorised. By you! I wish I could have told them the truth. But then, I would have gotten into even more trouble..."

"But, you did tell the truth. You saw something on the wing, panicked and then the engine exploded. That's what happened. You weren't to blame..."

"But I was. I was." Zero dropped his face into his palms. His posture was one of pure misery.

"I'm sorry. I had lost my temper, Zero. I didn't think about..." Kaname began, truly miserable. He didn't think they would have held Zero so long when he was detained. He was innocent. But these days that wasn't enough. Eventually Zero was released, after much effort from both their parts...

"I'm going out." Zero interrupted turning quickly towards the door. He felt like he needed a drink and a break or he really would lose it. It had been twelve hours of questioning, nothing to eat, only sodas to drink. But he stuck to his story of what happened, even through the tears of frustration.

"Where are you going?"

"Am I a prisoner? Is that what you are saying?!" Zero bellowed swinging back towards Kaname. Kaname sighed and looked away.

"You are free to go as long as you are back before sunrise. You don't want me to worry, do you?" Kaname asked lifting his eyes to meet Zero's, conveying his meaning. Zero may have had a rough day but it didn't change anything between them. _No running away; stay away from the girl._

"No, _master_." Zero said, bowing low, knowing what it would do to Kaname. He grabbed his coat and left, slamming the door to the suite behind him.

**HOWEVER** Zero did go. Sure, he wandered around a long time: first, to a bar downtown, then to the park. But he felt drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. He was in such turmoil and she was familiar. A haven. She reminded him of everything he was before Kaname. She still saw him as human. As just Zero Kiriyuu. He craved that right now, even for a moment. Even if it was dangerous.

Zero felt like he was going out of his mind. It was happening too fast. In two weeks he had been plucked from his normal ordinary life – even if he was combating a bad case of vampirism – and forced to be a _companion_ to this rock-star with a taste for human flesh. A companion in every sense of the word... Zero blushed in embarrassment and fury as he remembered what had happened almost two days ago. Embarrassment that he had given in so completely, so utterly. Fury that he had actually enjoyed it... Now that he had some distance from the episode, disgust with himself was setting in like a thick fog on a welsh moor.

He found himself outside the club, comically looking in all directions as if trying to spot a tail. He didn't go in but waited outside, across the street from the side entrance where staff normally exited. He hadn't spoken to her since that frantic telephone call in the airport. He hoped she had returned to her life as normal. Hoped that she was okay. He just knew that when he saw her again everything would make sense. His time with Kaname would reduce to fantasy and he would remember who he truly was. Who he truly loved.

Zero pushed off the wall as a group exited the club and one figure separated from the bunch, waved and headed in the opposite direction to the others. Zero frowned. He had told her over and over to never walk alone like this, but she wouldn't listen. It was a short distance to the main thoroughfare but it was very late and very lonely. Zero waited until the others turned up the street and headed after her. What would he say? He hadn't even thought...

"Who's there? Come out now or I'll shoot...!"

"Jesus Christ, Yuuki! When the hell did you get a gun?!!"

"...Z... Zero?!!"

Yuuki was too stunned or sceptical to drop her arm for several moments, but when the distinctive features came into view and registered, she dropped the gun and placed her hands over her face.

"Oh God! I could have shot you!"

"Yuuki..."

Zero ran to her and held her, crushing her into him. Zero could be forgiven for this. After all, he had been in love with her for several months. They had risen from sleep together, eaten together, slept together. They'd comforted each other while the other cried. He'd spent long hours watching her sleep, noticing the strong pulse on her neck...

Zero pulled away suddenly, avoiding her eyes.

"Zero, are you okay? I was so worried! I filed a police report but you should have seen how they treated me, like a delusional ex-girlfriend..."

"I just wanted to see you. You look beautiful." Zero interrupted stroking her hair, but already, emotionally, pulling away. Yuuki saw it.

"Zero. You are leaving again."

"I can't stay, Yuuki. You'll be in danger. There is nowhere we can run to be safe." _Not from me..._

"Zero! Please! Whatever it is we can sort it out! I don't believe you got involved with a gang! You are too cautious, too level headed! Tell me what it is! Is it your brother...?"

"Yuuki..." Zero pulled her to him again. He was already regretting coming. It had been selfish of him. She was beginning to cope and then he shows up again like this. He knew the danger. He knew that Kaname wouldn't tolerate this; that Yuuki could end up dead, but still... This was stupid!. Leave! Now!

"Yuuki..." Zero said, loosening his arms.

"Zero, wait...!"

Zero stiffened as Yuuki reached up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him to hold him to her. Zero's hands went up to grab her arms but then he found himself responding to the kiss. He could never resist her kisses. Her softness. Her scent of jasmine and sweat. His hands slid slowly from her forearms down to wrap around her petit, feminine frame, delighting in how she shivered from the contact and pressed into him. Right now - and maybe it was her intention - he would follow her anywhere.

**KANAME** leaned his head on the railing of the fire escape and closed his eyes on the scene he had been watching closely for the last few minutes. He felt as if he would... break. His hands gripped the railing so hard it began to hurt. Zero... He hadn't wanted to follow him. He had really wanted to trust him. But he had been worried about him. Before he knew it he was outside in the night, using his instincts to guide him to the only other vampire that existed on this earth. He had paced the suite for half an hour after Zero left in anger, berating himself for his actions in New York that had gotten Zero into this mess. He had vowed to cancel his American commitments and stay in Japan or anywhere else simply because of what had happened to Zero. It was only because he had been eager to try something new that he had embarked on this career, anything to fill the void he had within him. His music had been a profitable and enjoyable diversion but now he had something far more precious. Or thought he had...

Kaname wished he knew what he could do to make Zero love him. Sure he had behaved badly, robbing Zero of his choice, forcing this on him, threatening his girlfriend's life. But Kaname had explained, and had put his heart on his sleeve. They had finally made love, he'd laid claim to Zero entirely. Yet, he couldn't understand, with all that he had given Zero why he was back here, in this epitome of seedy humanity, with her. Didn't he understand that he was no longer who she wanted? Couldn't he understand that she could no longer be enough for him? Maybe it was time Zero saw for himself.

It didn't cross Kaname's mind, as he stood to prepare to descend towards the embracing couple, that he had made a mistake. Not once. Not once did he think to kill Zero and put this unhappy episode behind him as he easily could have done. Was it his love for him? Was it because, as it stood, he was the only other vampire in the world? Maybe Kaname could have made another. Maybe he could have fallen in love again. But Kaname knew it would never be the same as what he felt right now. It was as if Zero was meant for him, if one believed these things. He was well worth fighting for...

"What a lovely scene. Now I know how to play those scripts that keep landing on my agent's desk."

Zero pulled away from Yuuki hurriedly and turned towards Kaname, stunned and afraid, pulling Yuuki behind him quickly. He had been followed. Dammit! Dammit!

"Ka... Ken! Please! I was just..."

"Don't worry. You know I won't hurt you, Zero." Kaname said, a smile on his face hiding what he couldn't say. He approached the two slowly, casually until he was about ten metres away, his hands in his pockets, his demeanour one of grim amusement. "I won't even touch a hair on your little friend's head, so stop shielding her so dramatically. Really, Zero!"

Yuuki recovered from the sudden change in circumstance and peeped out from behind Zero. Did he say... Ken?

"Ken! It's you? But why...?"

Yuuki pulled out from behind where Zero was holding her.

"No! Yuuki...!"

Yuuki stopped and looked at Zero's frightened face and Kaname's quietly amused one. She cocked her head questioningly.

"I don't understand..."

"Then let me elaborate for you my dear. Zero is trying to protect you from me. He thinks I'll hurt you. He's right of course, but not how he expects."

"What...?" Yuuki's eyes widened and Zero grabbed her again.

"No! I'm sorry I came here, but I was just talking to her. Saying goodbye! She doesn't deserve...!"

"I can see how you two were 'talking'. It's a pity you don't 'talk' to me that way. Not unless I force you to..." Kaname smile grew wider, taking on a sexy, familiar quality as he held Zero's eyes, but the edge to it was dangerous...

"What is going on here?" Yuuki demanded, fighting Zero's hold rather successfully. "You said you were in trouble with some bad people! That we'd be in danger! But that's Ken! That's the singer that you served at the club! Did you borrow money from _him_?"

Kaname's eyebrows rose and he laughed as Zero bowed his head in shame. How else could he have explained?

"No. Yuuki. I..."

"What have you been telling her, Zero? Why don't you try the truth?"

"Stop it! I was coming back! I was only trying to...!"

"What? Search for her car keys with your tongue?" Kaname asked dryly, but with just a hint of... hurt?

Yuuki pulled away from Zero again. This didn't feel like it should. It felt like that time in school when Ruka had walked in on her and Akatsuki kissing in the nurse's office and had stormed out again, but only after giving him this look... of pain...

"Zero... Zero!" Yuuki yelled as Zero still refused to look at her. "What is the truth? What does he mean?"

"Yuuki. I have to go..."

"Oh,no. Not when this is just getting interesting. You wanted to talk. Let's talk."

Kaname tried to approach Zero who backed away again. Yuuki saw this and dropped for her gun. She stood and raised it at Kaname.

"Stay where you are! Don't come any closer! If you think I will stand here and let you hurt him, you are sadly mistaken!"

Kaname stopped and faced Yuuki, really looking at her for the first time. She was willing to kill him for Zero. How she must love him. Kaname looked back at Zero as his smile died and a look of sadistic zeal entered his face. Zero's eyes widened as he realised what it meant. Kaname turned back to Yuuki, but stayed back, not because of the gun, but because what he was going to do would negate that.

"Yuuki!!" Zero screamed, launching himself at Kaname, "Kaname, let's go now! I'm sorry I did this. Please...!"

Zero found he couldn't speak anymore. He raised his hands to his throat as his vocal cords seemed to jam. Kaname sidestepped him and circled Yuuki, watching her determination and confusion pepper his face.

"Hurt him? Did you get a good look at him? I think I have done the opposite don't you? I don't think he has ever looked so good. If you used your eyes instead of your emotions you would see that Zero doesn't look like a destitute man in fear for his life. That jacket alone would keep you in your apartment for a year..."

"Shut up! Zero, let's go!" She didn't like what he was saying, even though her stomach sank as the knowledge seeped in...

"No. You can't go yet. Not until you understand..."

There was a sudden chill as a stiff breeze descended on them. Yuuki squinted and partially covered her face to protect her eyes but Zero gasped and dropped to his knees. Yuuki eventually was able to look at Ken again...

The gun went off as Yuuki screamed. She squeezed the trigger again but the gun was whipped away from her in short order, her arm held as the red eyes peered into her own frantic ones.

"No! It's a trick...!"

"A trick? No, not at all. I _am_ a vampire. And guess what?" Kaname taunted softly as he pulled Yuuki to him and turned her around, his hand going to hold her head still by the neck. "You'll soon see something equally interesting. Isn't that right, Zero?"

"Stop it..." Zero managed, as his voice was restored, but he had other concerns. There was a strange force in the air that was calling to him, calling to him to let go. He knew instinctually it was coming from Kaname. That Kaname was somehow... Zero's breaths increased in rate as he fought it, but it grew stronger, undeniable. Zero moaned as he began to tremble. His fingernails started to grow and he could feel his fangs elongating. Zero folded his arms and turned his head away, but he couldn't hide his need.

"No lesser vampire can resist my 'call', Zero. If you fight it, you will only hurt yourself. Or maybe," Kaname drew the little finger of his right hand along Yuuki's neck, the claw slicing her flesh like butter, "Her..."

Zero whipped around and snarled as the scent of Yuuki's blood filled the air. His body reacted to it like spark to a keg of dynamite. Somehow he was on his feet and in front of her, only seeing the single red drop of blood as it trickled down her neck. Zero reached out and cupped her head, pulling her forward, his fangs aching as he leaned forward to finally sink them into her soft neck... Yuuki screamed as if her soul would break.

"Nooo!! Nooo!!! Stay away!! Leave me alone!! You monster!!! You beast!!!"

Zero hauled back as if he had been struck. He threw himself to his knees and gathered what little strength he had left. He used it to force himself to his feet and to put one foot in front of the other, and run. Down the alley, across the street. Away...

"Zero...!!"

Yuuki's face crumbled as she watched the consequence of her words. She regretted them as soon as she had uttered them. This thing... this creature had played them both. Her suspicions were confirmed when Kaname chuckled in her ear.

"See how easy it was? Just a little prodding and he was willing to forget his _love_ for you and use you for dinner. Are you sure you still want him?"

"You did this. You did that to him! I'll never forgive you...!!" Yuuki yelled beginning to fight Kaname's hold. Kaname marvelled at the girl's spirit. He ached to destroy it. But... He knew Zero would never forgive him.

Yuuki fell to the ground as Kaname suddenly released her. She recovered herself to look up at the creature's retreating form. He was going to leave her.

"Leave him alone! Can't you see he is unhappy? Can't you see you are hurting him?"

Kaname stopped and turned around, his body normal again almost as if it had been a dream, but Yuuki wasn't making that mistake twice. She held her breath as Kaname stared at her a long time as if deciding a course of action, then he turned away again.

"You are my gift to him. I will leave you alive today. But stay away from us if you want what's best for him. He is unhappy because he won't accept what he is and you are a part of that. As such, he is a danger to himself and, to you. Remember that."

"Wait!! Ken...!!" Yuuki shouted, but stopped as she realised there was no one else in the alley with her and there were the sounds of sirens in the distance.

to be continued

lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to VK.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_by lightpathetic_

**HE'D **left her. He'd left her with him. How could he? How could he have done such a thing?

Zero leaned against a tree as he caught his breath in long sobs. He had run until he thought his lungs would burst, finally ending up near the tree shrouded entrance to a shrine, where he'd finally collapsed. Collapsed and after he had stopped feeling sorry for himself, had begun to think about Yuuki, where he had left her and who with. Damn. He was such a loser...

Zero pushed away from the tree and stumbled back in the direction he had come. He was in control of himself again, his fingers and teeth had returned to normal... Zero stopped, a haunted expression coming over his face again. She'd called him... "monster"...

"Come. I'll take you home."

Zero swung on the voice.

"What did you do to her?! If you hurt her...!"

"Now you care? Or maybe you thought she would be safer with me."

"Fuck you."

Zero turned and walked away. He would find out. Then Kaname's life would be forfeit if he'd even _dared_...

"She's fine. I left her in the alley with her gun. I wasn't in the mood for a shrill brunette. Zero, come. Let's leave. Where are you going?" Kaname asked walking after him.

"Anywhere. Away from you. I am sick of this."

"Zero..."

"You damned bastard!" Zero screamed, whirling on Kaname again, his face set in furious anger, "Why in front of her like that? Why? Why did you have to... to let her... see me like that? I hate you! I hate you!!"

Zero swung and missed but connected on his second try and third and fourth... Zero zoned out as his fists connected over and over with Kaname face and body. The form sank to its knees and still Zero continued until he was exhausted, until his fists were raw and bloody, and not only from his own blood. He too sank to his knees and began to sob into his hands. She had been all he'd had left. She had been what he had been hanging on to. Now he was alone. This... "monster" was alone and...

Zero opened his eyes in surprised as he felt soft hands gently hold his wrists and a wet, warm tongue began to lick his aching knuckles. Zero was so stunned and wrung out he let Kaname have his way, even letting him pull them away from his face, first his left hand then his right. The sting left them almost as soon as Kaname's saliva touched them but Kaname cleaned his hands until most of the blood was gone, taking a moment to suck on a gash where Zero's fleshy palm had clipped one of his fangs.

"Are they better?" Kaname whispered, when he'd finally finished.

"...Yes." Zero answered, not caring to fight anymore, avoiding Kaname's own horrifically bloodied visage.

"Good." Kaname reached up to stroke Zero's hair but he flinched away. Kaname sighed.

"Let's go home."

Zero said nothing as Kaname picked him up gently and leapt into the air.

**ZERO** spent the next two days in bed, vaguely aware of someone coming or going, sitting next to him, talking, stroking his hair, kissing him... He wanted to die. Yuuki called him, _him,_ a _monster. _And she was right. There was nothing left of his humanity. He was no better than Kaname. A killer. A parasite that fed on people.

Kaname sat on the bed and watched Zero's vacant stare. When he was tired of it he made him sleep. He thought about erasing the last episode and then smacked himself for it. He couldn't keep doing that. They had to deal with this. They had to move through this and go on with their lives together. For that to happen Zero had to remember Yuuki's reaction to his true form. He had to remember he wasn't human Zero anymore. _That _person was dead.

Kaname ran his hands through hair and looked up at the setting sun. He had to go out. He was feeling the stress of his recent exertions and Zero's last meal. He was fighting the small tremors of extreme hunger, forcing his hands to be steady, but if he stayed too long he would be too out of it to hunt or he would blank out and wake up to find Zero's hand sticking out of his mouth. He didn't want to leave Zero like this, but he had no choice.

"Zero, I'm going out. I want you to sleep now..." Kaname began tiredly, not expecting Zero to move farthest answer.

"Are you going to hunt?"

Kaname nearly died from happiness. He crawled up the bed and looked into Zero's eyes.

"Zero! I was so afraid you'd never speak to me..."

"Why are you going out? I'm right here."

"No." Kaname said firmly, pulling away, "I need a bit more than a tame sip from you. I'll be back in a few hours..."

Kaname turned to stand and felt Zero grab his arm. He looked back to see what was the matter.

"Don't go. Please. Look at you. You are shaking. Here let me help..."

Kaname grabbed Zero's hand before he could do it, before he could draw blood. They sat there staring at each other then Kaname, with a monumental effort, stood and walked away.

"I have to go..."

"Kaname..."

Zero stood and caught up to him, holding out his arms. He pressed his lips to Kaname, sucking then nipping until Kaname moaned and flung his arms around him, his head tipping to get more of Zero's taste, his body pressing into him hungrily. Kaname found Zero almost impossible to resist: his blood and his body. Kaname had been dying for just this contact, any contact for days and now he almost forgot his other elemental needs when Zero just reached out and touched him...

Kaname stiffened as he tasted blood on Zero's tongue. He chased it and drew it to his mouth to suck, his tongue licking urgently for more, searching for the source. His fangs burgeoned and Kaname pulled away quickly as a tremor shook his body. _No. No!!!_

"Zero. I promise. When I return we'll finish this."

"No! Now! I have what you need. Come and take it."

Zero pulled off the pyjama top Kaname had dressed him in and revealed his pale smooth skin. He trailed his fingers along his chest, down his stomach to the waist-band of the pants, he then slowly and deliberately, drew his nails up his flat stomach...

Kaname stood mesmerised by the trail of blood on Zero's stomach, his fangs were now fully grown and the scent of Zero's blood was the only thing that existed. Kaname's body began to prepare to remove it from Zero's body in the most efficient manner possible. Zero found himself flat on his back on the bed before he even saw Kaname move. Zero turned his head and stretched his neck eagerly, waiting... Then was all confusion when Kaname just lay there, breathing heavily against his neck, considering he had been licking it quite enthusiastically a while ago.

"Kaname! Go on! Don't you want to taste my flesh?"

Kaname didn't move.

"Kaname?"

Zero felt the dampness on his neck. He frowned. It didn't smell like blood. What was going on?

"Kaname! What?"

Zero shoved his hand into Kaname's hair and pulled his head away from his neck. He looked into Kaname's red eyes that were... filled with tears...

"I know... what you are... trying to do. I know... you are trying to get me to kill you."

"I..."

"... I almost did too. I want to so badly. My body hurts..."

"Then why don't you?! Come on! You... _bastard_!!"

Zero began to hit Kaname, punching, slapping... Kaname quickly held his hands and rolled to pin him.

"Nooo!! Kill me! Kill me...!"

Zero slumped back into slumber and Kaname quickly dismounted the bed and ran to the balcony diving off in one motion. Quickly wiping his eyes he drifted upwards before making his way downtown.

**ZERO** came to consciousness as lips were pressed to his. He fought, twisting his head, but it was held firmly and soon his mouth was pried open and his mouth was filled with blood. Zero coughed as he gagged, but the stream stopped until he recovered, a hand stroking his hair gently, then it resumed again. Zero began to shake in revulsion at himself but he drank, his nature taking over at the allure of fresh blood. He didn't need as much as he had the first time. He wasn't starving. So when Zero shook his head the second time, the stream stopped but the lips stayed, changing to a firm, wet kiss.

"Do you want to continue where we left off?"

"No. Get off of me."

"Such a tease." Kaname grinned but stayed where he was. Zero opened his eyes and looked at Kaname whose face was inches from his own, his eyes looking at him with some interest.

"What do you want? You'll get nothing from me. I've had it with you...!"

"Okay. I understand. I'll wait."

"Kaname. I mean it! You might as well kill me now. At least you'll get a meal."

Kaname's grin became an indulgent smile. He borrowed deeper into Zero's softness, pressing into his body, curling his arms tighter until there was no space between them, one hand burying into Zero hair to stroke his scalp.

"I couldn't kill you. Besides I know you'll forgive me someday. We have a long time together."

"I'll kill myself first."

"You'll have to find the opportunity and I won't... let you..." Kaname whispered as he began to move up and down against Zero's body. This was really when Zero realised he was naked. They both were. And Kaname was gently and expertly massaging his entire body with his. Even...

"Kaname..."

"Mmmm." Kaname moaned, "I love when you say my name like that. Relax. Close your eyes. Don't you think... my skin is the softest you've ever felt? Don't you love... how it feels... against yours like... this...?"

Zero groaned, his body beginning to respond to Kaname's insistent pressure. He was warm, soft and comforting. His hot breaths stirred his hair, his skin was heaven. Zero raised his hands and ran them down the length of Kaname's back. Kaname gasped and picked up the pace a little.

"Kaname..."

"Yes? Tell me. Instruct me. I'll do anything..." Kaname breathed, half moaning as his eyes closed...

"Promise me that when you are finished toying with me that you won't leave me alive. Promise me, after all of this, you won't just abandon me too."

Kaname stilled and lifted his head from where he had dropped it on Zero's shoulder. He searched Zero's eyes for a while as if trying to find a clue for the strange request, but saw nothing. Kaname's brows knitted as he began to deny that his feelings weren't genuine, but then he closed his mouth and decided it was best to just show him.

"I promise I will never leave you Zero. I promise, despite everything I will always appear at your side. Always."

Zero closed his eyes again and sighed. He relaxed against the bed and Kaname stroked his hair tenderly until he drifted off again to sleep.

**YUUKI **pulled open the shop door and peered inside uneasily before going inside. It smelled of incense and decay, but this was the place. She couldn't turn back now.

"Hello? Is anyone here? Hello?"

Yuuki approached the counter and leaned on it, craning her neck to see behind it in case the old biddy had fallen and couldn't get up. She pulled back and blew in frustration. Hadn't she called to make sure?

"Good afternoon."

Yuuki leapt at least a foot off the ground and spun quickly to bring the smaller, elderly man into view. He seemed to not move, but Yuuki could see the amused, playful sparkle in his eyes. Son of a bitch...

"Aidou-san?" Yuuki asked, bowing in greeting.

"That's right. In the flesh. My, you are a pretty little thing. What can I do for you?" Aidou-san asked as he ambled away to lift a board and cross to behind the counter, his face a picture of regret that she hadn't come by fifty years ago instead...

"I..." Yuuki paused. How do you say something like this?

"Come on! Out with it? Boyfriend cheating on you? You want someone to stop bothering you? You think your breasts are too small and you want a C-cup without surgery. Go on, I've heard it all before..."

"I want to kill a vampire. Can you help me?"

Aidou-san paused in his careful perusal of his shelf for the breast-growth lotion and pills and slowly turned back to the small girl. Okay, that's one he didn't often...

"Did you say, 'vampire'?"

"Yes. I asked around. People say you are a very powerful 'doctor'..."

"For real-life problems. Vampires are fiction. Like unicorns and elves...."

"Fine. I'll find someone else."

Yuuki turned and walked out of the shop, slamming the door. Another dead-end. She was beginning to think she would have to sharpen a stick and stab him herself...

"Wait! Young lady!"

Yuuki stopped and turned back to the shop. The man raised his hand to signify that she should wait and ran inside. He returned and closed the shop and locked it.

"I didn't mean to offend you. It is a strange request..."

"Can you help me or not, ojii-san?" Yuuki demanded, just a shade under rudely. The elder gentleman sighed resignedly.

"I can... take you to some-one who can."

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to VK._


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

by lightpathetic

"**THIS IS** silly. Let's go back inside."

"No. Not yet. Pass the salad."

"Kaname…"

"Fine. I'll get it."

Zero frowned as he folded his arms and leaned back in the recliner, as the bowl of salad whizzed by his head. His eyes went back to his rumination of the view from the rooftop conservatory as Kaname continued to have a picnic while Zero just sat there. Zero hardly noticed these things anymore as he was becoming used to Kaname's telekinetic powers but he couldn't get used to his pig-headed stubbornness. Even his agent and producer were finding this out to their cost, their tears going unanswered as Kaname canceled appearances in the States for the next three weeks then allowed his views on Zero's treatment to be "leaked" to several news outlets. Of course they reported it as a staff member, who remained nameless, has caused _Ken_ to take a stand against bureaucratic injustice. After all, who really cares about the hired help…?

"You are insane."

"Stop saying that. You are hurting my feelings."

"Don't you care what those people have gone through for you?"

"You know what I care about, Zero. Don't you like the view?"

"Does it matter? You aren't even looking at it."

"I know what it looks like. It's too bright this time of day, anyway. The sun hurts my eyes."

"What?!" Zero exclaimed in spite of himself. Kaname was wearing heavy shades, was huddled under an umbrella and facing the wall. Zero was starting to feel silly that he was the only one out in the sun looking at the view. But then, he knew Kaname was doing this for him. For the last week and a half he had been ever present. When Zero refused to get out of bed, Kaname had fed him and washed him. He would even lie next to him and read to him: newspapers, novels, fan mail. He ignored the attempt Zero had made on his life with the dinner knife six days ago when he had fallen asleep next to Zero, only making sure the items were removed from then on when Zero was finished. Then to cap it all, had made love to him each day for the last three days in succession, bringing him to toe-curling climaxes before going to sleep himself, still wanting nothing in return. All this careful attention and patience and selflessness eventually wore Zero down to the point that one morning, Zero remarked that it was lovely outside, just to make conversation, just to alleviate an uncomfortable silence, and now they were outside having an early breakfast on the rooftop. Zero was beginning to learn he should be quiet about certain things…

"Kaname, if you don't like it let's…"

"But I do. Especially now. You belong in the sun. You are glowing. Your hair… is brilliant…" Kaname commented in a subdued tone, his hand going out to touch it, almost enthralled.

Zero rolled his eyes and swatted Kaname's hand away, averting his gaze, choosing not to voice his silly fear about combusting as soon as he stepped outside, or his vain hope Kaname would...

"I wish you'd stop that. You treat me like a woman you are carefully seducing."

"I think it is working."

Zero's eyes darted back to Kaname to catch his meaning but Kaname began to tuck into the tuna salad with light vinaigrette dressing he'd order. Zero sighed. He was stubborn and eternally optimistic. Zero wanted to kill him for that alone...

"Go on, try the salad. It's so good. I have the best chef in the world at this hotel..."

"I'm not hungry."

It was Kaname's turn to sigh.

"How long are you going to keep behaving like a child? You have several choices you know. One of them is to embrace this fully. You won't believe how many people have tried to get where you are, what they have done..."

"I'm going to bed." Zero interrupted, standing.

"Zero! Dammit...!"

"I can't believe this. You want me to be grateful?! You want me to be on my knees thanking you for picking me...?!"

"No!" Kaname shouted, also getting to his feet, "But the man that drew me to him had such self-worth and sense of himself that should make him thrive in any situation. I am giving you permission to use me Zero. Ruthlessly if you want to. Why don't you surprise yourself and reach out and take what I am offering you?!"

"Because it is coming from you! Nothing good could come from a monster like you!"

Kaname took a deep breath and looked away and Zero headed for the door to the stairs thinking that was the end of it...

"You keep hauling that out to hurt me but the last time I checked it was you who was called a monster. What did she say exactly? A 'monster', a '_beast_'? Do you remember the look of revulsion as she pushed you away? _She_ rejected you. She's probably moved on with her life now, probably under someone else right this moment. Yet here you are wallowing in self pity and giving up..."

"No! Stop it!" Zero yelled, pulling the door, a hand going to his ear as if he could block the words. Kaname caught Zero and pulled him to him.

"I don't want to remind you. I don't want to hurt you. I love you. I'm... insane about you. It hurts Zero, to see you like this. I don't know what to do anymore. What can I do to help? Tell me. Tell me..."

Kaname began kissing Zero: his neck, his ears, his chest, and the tears that finally began to roll down his face. Comforting him and conveying his love, pressing against the warm wall as he found his lips and began to kiss him. Softly at first but then Zero opened his mouth to him willingly. Willingly? Kaname pulled away and looked into Zero eyes, his eyes afraid. Afraid to hope. But Zero was looking at him.

"Zero...?" Kaname asked as he began to squirm self-consciously.

"Let's go, Kaname. I am tired of this city. What sort of rock-star are you anyway when we are cooped up here like old people? Where is the 'sex, drugs and rock n' roll'?"

Kaname smiled as if he'd just hit the jackpot. He scooped Zero up into his arms and "pulled" open the door.

"By God I can give you the sex right now. The rest can wait four hours until I am satisfied."

"**WHAT IS** it Yagari? This had better be good or I will cut off your dick and mail it to your mother."

The others at the table giggled even though they knew the boss was entirely serious. It was Yagari, the bit hustler from the seediest section of Tokyo. He should have been killed a long time ago because he was rude and pugnacious. But he got the job done, running his brothels and women like clockwork. As such, with the proximity of his ear to the ground, he always brought in valuable information. Political dealings, stock tips, shipment information and...

"It is boss. It is."

Yagari yanked the girl forward that had finally had the good sense to stop struggling and sat her on a chair one of the attendants had brought. She looked in trepidation on the assembly with good reason. She had the street smarts to notice some of the biggest persons in organised crime in _Japan. _But she didn't recognize the female that had spoken and whom even she noticed commanded the respect of everyone here. She was gorgeous, though anyone could tell she was well past middle aged, her pale, blond hair swept up into an elegant chignon, but the woman gave her the creeps immediately from the vacant way she looked at her as if she was entirely expendable. The masked man at her side looked on with similar detachment.

"Not much to see, Yagari..."

"In a moment. See what she has to say." Yagari, turned and slapped the small girl hard. "Talk."

Yuuki reeled for a moment but straightened herself and looked back at the assembled guests. She knew she was a dead woman. Their letting her see them like this meant a death sentence. She wanted to cry. Indeed miserable tears tugged at her eyes. She wished she had done many things differently, but it was too late for regrets. Too late...

"Speak!" Yagari yelled, hauling his hand back again. His boss raised her hand and he stopped, his hand still poised in the air to strike.

"You'll get blood on my rug. You know I hate that."

The woman stood and walked around to the frightened girl. She stood there her eyes still considering her, then her face changed. To a kind smile. Yuuki blinked to clear her eyes in disbelief.

"Go on, child. We are all ears. If the information is good we will pay you handsomely. Lord knows I've been trying to get this lot to help me but with little success."

Yuuki cleared her throat. What should she say? What shouldn't she? But then she had already told Yagari most of it. How stupid...

"I want to have a vampire killed. It is stupid really. I see now that I may be delusional..."

"We'll determine that, love. What does he look like? Do you know anything about him?"

"...Yes. His name and I know how to trap him. He has a weakness."

The room "OOOO" 'd and "AAHHHH" 'd. This girl knows how to catch him! When their most powerful assassins and investigators had turned up nothing.

"Hiou-san this is a waste of..."

"I will say what is and what isn't a waste of my time, Fumio. Go on child, I am listening."

Yuuki swallowed again.

"He is involved with my boy-friend and is forcing him to stay with him. I am thinking if you rescue Zero he would come after him. He did the last time..."

"Did you say 'Zero'? Is that his name?" Hiou-san asked quietly her eyes darting to the masked figure who still didn't move.

Yuuki kicked herself mentally. She had to try to save this.

"Yes! But the vampire is the one...!"

"Who is he? Is it a 'he'?"

"Yes. I don't know where he lives but you should be able to find him easily."

The room broke out in laughter and Hiou-san allowed it, too stunned was she by the girl's words to demand discipline.

" 'Easily' you say? Pray, tell me why? Is he waiting outside?"

Another round of laughter. Yuuki frowned, her ire coming to the fore. How dare they laugh...!

"Because the vampire is Ken. You know, the rock star?"

"**YAGARI**..."

"I know, but the girl is not on drugs. I checked her out. She works; her boss likes her, her friends say she is extremely level headed and reliable. There is no history of mental illness. There was a report of a gun shot in the alley the night she is talking about..."

"But still. Ken? It is so far fetched. I mean my daughter has all his music..."

"Have you found Him anywhere else? Besides look at these pictures..."

Shizuka Hiou took the envelope and pulled out several prints, newspapers, film stills...

"I don't understand."

"Look. Here in the audience. Here at this party and there..."

Shizuka gasped.

"That's... that's..." _Him!!_

"The girl's boyfriend. I had it checked out. She has photographs and her boss knows him well. They used to work at the same club."

"Christ! But maybe her motive is revenge..."

"Yes, but there are other more plausible avenues. This girl wanted to get silver bullets and holy water to kill a _vampire_. She admits to shooting him and she says it _didn't_ work..."

"Shizuka." The masked figure interrupted, "Perhaps you should take this seriously. My hunch is her boyfriend is not there willingly. What's the harm? It is worth the pressure you are under to provide results. Think of the opportunity to solve this problem once and for all. What it would mean for you. And the organisation."

Shizuka turned back to the pictures and tapped the handsome face of Japan's latest music sensation thoughtfully. It was such a pity. She really liked his music...

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampire Knight"_


	16. Chapter 15

_Warning: Lemony scene 4._

Chapter 15

_by lightpathetic_

"**OH MY GOD!** When Razor opened with that cord I nearly died! But the folks love it!"

"That's the mark of true genius. Knowing what to try..."

"Really? I thought it was the mark of the grass you were smoking..." Ken retorted, wiggling his fingers to illustrate.

The entire hotel room erupted and Zero got up to refresh his glass and get Kaname another Mudslide, heavy on the chocolate. He was sitting on the sidelines as usual at yet another after-concert party, watching Kaname hold court, but he didn't care. He knew very little about what they liked to discuss and cared about even less of it. Besides it was how he liked it, he told himself, especially since many of them hardly looked at Zero with anything more than suspicion, which Kaname encouraged by being very protective of him, to the point where if anyone came over to talk to him Kaname would distract them or order Zero to do some mundane task. It seemed he encouraged the isolation but he never answered Zero's direct questions as to why and never stopped this behaviour. Yet, he always insisted that Zero be at these occasions with him.

Zero glanced back towards Kaname to see his eyes on him. Zero raised an eyebrow in askance and Kaname smiled and winked quickly before pulling a passing "hostess" onto his lap. Zero felt himself flush before he looked away in irritation. Dammit. Why was he behaving like this? Zero berated himself as his heart-rate increased. It had been a few weeks since Zero had decided to stop fighting Kaname and just exist. He got up every day, got through it, and went to sleep again. Of course it wasn't that simple. As Zero was ready to leave Tokyo, Kaname began performing again. "Pure Blood" did some gigs in Japan: Kyoto, Nagano, and Osaka. Then Zero indicated, offhandedly, while he was watching the news, that he wanted to go back to Los Angeles and the next couple of days they were there, Kaname having resuscitated his interest in touring the States again. Zero was in the NSA's good books again anyway, considering the investigators had determined there was no external tampering with the plane's equipment. Most likely it had been a _very_ unfortunate case of material fatigue, it was claimed, considering the age of the aircraft. The pilot and crew, having been hailed as heroes, were assured their fifteen minutes of fame and lucrative speaking engagements. Kaname, on hearing this, had just chuckled into Zero's chest before Zero pushed him off and headed for the bathroom slamming the door, ignoring Kaname's pleas for almost an hour. If only they would believe him...

Zero took the drinks from the bar tender and returned to the couch where Kaname was sitting, merely smiling apologetically as he manoeuvred through the throng. He handed the glass to Kaname, who covered his hand unnecessarily before taking the glass and taking a sip, still talking to the hostess in his lap, to the amusement of his court. Zero felt that annoying flutter again at the touch and decided he'd had enough of this. He downed the contents of his glass and headed for the door. He was going back to their room whether Kaname liked it or not.

**ZERO** stepped out of the bathtub and sighed contentedly, wrapping himself in the large complimentary bathrobe as he looked out over the Strip, Las Vegas. Sometimes, very occasionally, he kicked himself in the butt and enjoyed life a little. It would be silly not to when there was a top of the line suite at a five star hotel to enjoy. Zero raided the bar for more drinks and poured in a little of everything bubbly and sweet smelling into the swimming pool sized tub before he soaked for an hour, the liquor, subtle fragrances and luxury melting away his cares for a time. Just after he was sufficiently "pruny", he ordered room service on the tub-side telephone; only lowering the baseball game on the wall mounted flat screen television to do so, and was going out now to receive it. Zero got lost in his fantasy, pretending he was the Sultan of Brunei and his harem of fifty Miss Universe contestants was out shopping for a few hours and he was having a quiet time to himself in between their demanding sexual appetites...

"Kaname...!" Zero froze in the door to the bathroom.

"Who else?" Kaname said, only lifting his head a little to look at Zero before dropping it back on the bed.

"No! I just thought..."

"I thought it was time to call it a night as well. You smell... fruity."

"I was just..."

"I know. I like when you enjoy yourself. Stop looking so guilty."

Zero stood in the middle of the large bedroom and wondered what he should do. His plan was to lie on the bed and watch the game while he waited for the door chime, but Kaname was there and he wanted to do nothing to make Kaname interrupt his sake, chips with cheese sauce and Rocky Road ice-cream dinner.

"Zero?" Kaname raised his head again to scrutinise Zero's frozen stance.

"Oh. I was just going to the living room..."

Zero crossed the room quickly and was suddenly shot into the air and back to hover over Kaname's body. Kaname didn't move a muscle, his expression still one of quiet fatigue. He opened his eyes to look into Zero chagrined expression as he adjusted to his bizarre circumstances.

"Why?"

"Kaname! Put me...!"

"What's in the living room?"

"I ordered some food. I wanted to..."

"You can wait here. With me."

Kaname reached up and deliberately smoothed away the opening of Zero's bathrobe with his palms and slid his right hand down Zero's torso to his nude hanging flesh, gently massaging, all the while watching Zero's eyes with the same lazy expression. Zero stiffened and wrinkled his nose, but did nothing more. Kaname stank of sweat, smoke, liquor and cheap perfume. There was even lipstick on his cheek. Kaname noticed this and frowned, his irritation shooting forth.

"Dammit, Zero! If something is bothering you just say it. Haven't we been over this?"

They had had this argument before but Zero was determined to be like this, like he was just the reluctant participant when Kaname wanted a relationship. It was another attempt to rebel and hurt him, which he often tried to ignore. But sometimes when he needed a little domesticity, when he was in the mood to be seen as just plain Kaname, it drew pain, a reflex reaction he couldn't stop.

Zero just stayed still and stared into Kaname's eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction. Kaname "tossed" him on the bed in frustration and got up. Zero could be such a brat sometimes. Anyone else would have had an appreciation of how hard Kaname was trying by now. Sometimes... sometimes he felt like...

"I am going to take a shower." Kaname said quickly, escaping before he made a big mistake, although he nearly changed his mind at Zero's very audible expression of relief as he did so.

**ZERO** allowed a smile as the Red Sox won and reached for the remote to turn off the set, shifting gingerly so he wouldn't disturb Kaname, who had fallen asleep on the knees of his tucked legs on the large settee. Kaname had come out earlier, in a much better mood after his shower, and sat with him to watch the game, immediately taking the Rocky Road off of the trolley and demolishing into it, only feeding Zero three mouth-fulls as a late afterthought. The time was passed companionably, both parties relaxing in the face of a mutually enjoyable pastime but Kaname was exhausted and had another appearance tonight so he drifted off to sleep in the eighth, missing the Sox pulling back the game from the Yankees in the last innings.

Zero, after a moment's hesitation, slid his feet away and Kaname slumped to the settee. Zero frowned. That should have woken him up. Certainly much less had done so before. Zero wondered what to do. He could wake him up or leave him on the settee. It was large and comfortable... Oh hell, why not, he thought, as he rose and slipped his hands beneath Kaname carefully and lifted. Kaname had done it often enough with him. Besides, when Kaname slept, he didn't much look like a dangerous predator. More like... a vulnerable boy... Zero shook his head quickly. _Stop it. Stop being naive!_

Zero had already found out that Zero the vampire was very much stronger than Zero the human. Kaname lifted easily into his arms, and was adjusted carefully onto his chest before he gingerly started towards the bedroom. Kaname moved once to mumble softly while burying his face into Zero's neck. Zero jumped in some trepidation of Kaname biting him but the vampire relaxed again and stilled. Zero continued through the doorway and across to the King-sized bed. Using one foot he kicked the coverings away and laid Kaname onto the bed, before tucking him in.

_So dead to the world_, Zero thought, as he smoothed the blanket over him. _Such a good opportunity..._

Zero straightened up, his eyes wide, his heart rate in over-drive. He watched Kaname's eyes move under his eyelids, the soft regular snores and knew this was a great opportunity to finally be free. Right now, if he carved Kaname's head off with a dinner knife, he would never know what hit him. Zero backed away from the bed his mind racing his eyes darting around for something he could use. The art-deco lamp stand? The heavy glass vase? He could probably order breakfast and use the knife...

Kaname moaned and rolled over, startling Zero from his inebriation on his good fortune. But he didn't settle again. He began to reach out on the bed, his hands searching for something. Or someone... He sighed and moaned in frustration, but still searched, his brows knitted in agonized sleep... Then he found what he was looking for, pulling it to him, burying his nose in the warm, familiar flesh before starting the soft snores again.

Zero lay back on the bed and got comfortable, his sleep coming quickly as he immediately realised how tired he was. He told himself it had nothing to do with how good and comforting Kaname's breath felt against his trapped right hand, or the warm feeling that had spread through him at Kaname's unconscious need. He couldn't find a weapon that's all. He would be better prepared. Next time...

**WHEN** Zero next became conscious again he immediately moaned. A hand was manipulating his erection expertly while another pinched and twisted his left nipple roughly. Soft lips were kissing the ridge between his shoulder blades at that point that always tickled unless...

Zero groaned and pushed back into the warm body behind him, that was wrapped quite firmly around him. Kaname changed his ministrations slightly, using only two fingers just under the tip as Zero whined in intense frustration.

"Good evening," Kaname muttered huskily, but with a note of nonchalance, as if he wasn't utterly destroying Zero's sanity. In the last few weeks, Kaname had been an apt pupil of what Zero liked and didn't, what gave him pleasure and didn't, and what he claimed didn't, but blew his mind when Kaname persisted. It had become such a favourite activity that Kaname didn't feel his day started correctly unless Zero came at least twice in that way of his when he fisted the sheets and glared at Kaname in this unique mixture of resentment and deep satisfaction that Kaname had come to love. Today Kaname was determined to make use of the room's most ostentatious feature: an entire wall of mirrors near the foot of the bed.

Kaname rolled, taking Zero with him and settled him beneath him on his back, straddling him over his straining flesh. Was he going to live in this bathrobe...?

Zero sobered a little at the brief interruption, trying to slip his mask back into place, even though they both knew a part of him was looking forward to this. He didn't like to make it too easy, as if his pride would suffer of something...

"What time is it? I'm so tired..."

"Shhh. We only have forty minutes." Kaname whispered impatiently. He sometimes enjoyed breaking down Zero's resistance, but right now he was too horny for games. Zero was warm and clean and leaking like a rusty faucet... Kaname's mouth closed over the item in question and began to draw on it like a man that was ravenous for whatever was inside. He groaned achingly each time the round, smooth tip hit the back of his throat, knowing that Zero would feel the vibration throughout his entire body, as evidenced by the way he emitted little cries and trembled each time he did so. Zero twisted to pull away but Kaname was ready for this, lifting Zero's legs away from where they scored the bed and holding them gently in the air to remove his traction, his other hand making use of the accessibility to massage and squeeze Zero's scrotum gently. Zero whimpered in a sort of quiet desperation but soon found that his hips had other ideas as they began to match Kaname's thrusts, synching to one common goal...

"AH!! KANAME!" Zero shouted, arching back, his body convulsing hard as the climax was all but wrenched from his overtaxed body, "FUCK, FUCK...!" Zero inhaled audibly and began to hit Kaname over the head to make him _stop_; his eyes squeezed shut as if in pain. Kaname lifted darkened eyes to Zero's face, their look of almost dazed pleasure showing that Zero wasn't the only one who body was clamouring to recover from a soul shattering orgasm. But Zero would never know to look at him...

Kaname relented and released Zero, but he wasn't finished. He began a series of open, wet kisses over Zero's stomach to the robe tie, slowly untying it. He dipped his tongue into Zero's navel and swirled it around in just the way...

Zero's breath caught painfully in his chest. He began to writhe again, trying to dislodge Kaname as his breathing became erratic. Kaname moved with Zero though, following him as he rocked, as he slipped closer to the edge of the bed, still swirling his long, hot, wet tongue, sometimes whipping the tip in a way that made Zero lose the strength in his limbs.

"You bastard. You god-damn..." Zero almost sobbed. Kaname was ruthless. Ruthless.

Kaname squeezed his eyes shut as another orgasm began to build inside him. He never told Zero what his reactions did to him. He was sure he would laugh or find a way to sabotage it. He stiffened to hide the tremors as they took over his body, only grunting a little into Zero's sensitive stomach, quite forgetting his torture for a half minute. When he recovered though he continued up Zero's chest, covering his ribcage with kisses as he massaged his nipples, sucking his nipples as he caressed his skin and hair, licking his neck, where he found out that Zero was most responsive as he rubbed his already stiff erection against Zero's tight ring... Basically making love to him. Thoroughly.

Zero whimpered again as he felt Kaname's intentions. He didn't fight it. Not anymore. They both knew about his private shame...

"Roll... over," Kaname panted, barely getting the words out, nearly out of his mind with desire. Zero came out of his daze and looked up at Kaname questioningly. Kaname looked up at the mirrors in answer. He wanted Zero to face them. Zero turned over, with Kaname just giving him the space to do so, and settled on his stomach. Kaname pressed into him impatiently.

"Look at yourself. So beautiful. So damned sexy..."

"Kaname..." Zero moaned, not quite in the mood for subtlety and romance.

"Look at what you do to me. You rob me of any will to be apart from you." Kaname propped Zero's head gently but firmly, forcing him to meet his smouldering eyes in the mirror. But Kaname also wanted Zero to see something else. Kaname lifted himself and...

"OOOHHHH!!" Zero groaned as if a part of himself had finally returned to his body, his eyes "lidding" in reflex as he felt and saw Kaname slide into him, the pupils dilating as his irises darkened. Zero _loved_ this. He didn't know if it was normal. He wasn't sure if it would matter to find out. He had a love/hate relationship with this activity. When his body was on fire like this he loved the feel of Kaname inside him, the pleasure he felt was intense. Sometimes he insatiably sought it out over and over, when Kaname made love to him. But when he was sane again, his face would burn in shame and he wouldn't meet Kaname's eyes. Kaname always thought he was being silly. He certainly thought it was damned sexy...

"Christ! I _love_ when you do that." Kaname gasped into Zero's ear, enjoying the impulsive squeeze of Zero's muscles as he settled inside him, the erratic breaths that seem to rip from Zero's chest, all the while meeting his eyes in the mirror. He loved the sight of them coupled together; their limbs tangled in a way that made them seem continuous. Kaname saw that Zero too was looking. Almost as if he was drawn to the sight.

"You don't know how much you simply excite me Zero. We fit so well together. It is like you were made just for me, just for this. Just for me to _fuck_ you..."

Zero closed his eyes and moaned, his body shaking as he pushed back into Kaname, eager to start, eager for the feel of Kaname driving into him, until every inch of him lit up in sheer delight. But Kaname held him still.

"No. You aren't going to hide from yourself. We'll do this slowly. You will keep your eyes open the entire time watching or I will stop. I mean it..."

"Bull. You... are so full of it..." Zero gasped, quite aware of his own allure over Kaname. Kaname chuckled at being found out in his lie. No, nothing could drag him away now but he did have the upper hand.

"Try me."

Zero gritted his teeth and keened as Kaname, moving only his hips, began to slowly pump into him, slowly, in and out...

"Oh fuck!" Zero gripped the sheet, his long fingers threading the material as Kaname kissed and licked his ear, "Kaname, please... Please..." Zero begged, not quite knowing why...

"What is it, my love? Faster? Slower? Don't stop? Tell me..." Kaname asked meeting Zero's eyes, his hot, dark gaze holding Zero's glazed ones with relish, only darting to the sight of his hips meeting Zero's pert ass, the gentle vibration matching the soft "slap" of flesh against flesh. He began to burn from how hard he was right then...

"Let me go."

"No. Watch us. Watch me cleave you in two. Do you see where I am burying myself in your sweet, tight..."

Zero offered a funny noise and released the sheet, his right hand going up to grab Kaname by the hair over his shoulder. The action startled Kaname and nearly undid him, his body responding to Zero's physical demand.

"Shut up and... fuck... me... harder. Or so help me...."

Kaname dropped his forehead to Zero's shoulder, totally forgetting his own rules, as he hung on for dear life to his sanity. He began to shove into Zero deeply, firmly, lifting high and plunging hard, unable to get enough himself. Zero began to cry again, unconsciously parting his legs to give better access, his body coming close to another...

"Oh Shit! Oh Fuck!!"

Kaname was silent, his hand still held Zero's throat but the other fell forward to the floor as the force of their union threatened to upend them onto the floor. Zero opened his eyes and watched in the mirror as their bodies shook with each stroke, as Kaname hips rose and fell, his member meeting him, feeling the fullness deep in his stomach, his tissues on _fire_...

"I'm coming, Zero..." Kaname moaned pathetically into his shoulder, as if he was beating himself up for not being able to hold on anymore. For him. Zero squeezed him impatiently, his frustration showing as he flipped Kaname and settled on top of him, pushing back on Kaname's erection as he rubbed his own, unable as he was to do so in the previous position...

"Kaname!! KANAME!!"

Kaname grabbed Zero's hips and stilled him as he pushed in deep, as he exploded, as his body met Zero's own quaking pleasure, shuddering in exquisite, unending ecstasy.

"**MAYERS!** Your dick in your hands again?!"

"Man. This is good stuff. Makes me what to trade in my old lady..."

"That's disgusting. Look I am not paying you to have a permanent hard-on..."

"I know. I _am_ running surveillance..."

"You learn anything new?"

"Yes. The boy-toy is going out on the town tonight instead of the show. Looks like he only likes the man's dick..."

"Could you spare me _all_ the details?"

"Sure. They'll be separated. I'll let you know when he's leaving so you could have him tailed. Did you bring the stuff?"

"Yeah. I hope this works. I don't fancy being food."

"You really believe they are vampires?"

"I believe they aren't to be underestimated. I heard he snatched Toshi like that. And that was one bad-assed dude..."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Don't mess this up. That Yakuza bitch would kill her mother if she crossed her and the rest of her family just to make a point..."

"Yeah. Yeah. Later."

Mayers hung up and reached to resuscitate his dying erection. Can't be all work and no play, he thought. This really was good. He wondered how he could sell this later...

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters – well except the ones I made up of course. They belong to VK!!!_


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_by lightpathetic_

"**WHERE** are you headed?"

Zero spun around at the few words in softly spoken Japanese knowing they were meant for him. He flushed as all eyes in the backstage area turned to him. He was the silent, creepy "lurker" type to them so it was quite fascinating to hear him speak even if half of them didn't understand what he would say.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the Casino."

Kaname forced a smile to his face. He didn't like not keeping an eye on Zero but they _were_ in Las Vegas and this was their last night here. And, he _wasn't_ a prisoner... Kaname nodded and waved him away in a show of nonchalance, turning to start issuing orders and questions as he took a sip of the water Zero had just given him. Zero hesitated to see if there was anything else and then slipped out the door, excited about the night ahead on his own.

He supposed he would hit the casinos but he also wanted to drive around a bit and see the sights. He was already getting into another fantasy of the wealthy heir who was out on the town. It could be seen that Zero took the chance whenever he could to forget his peculiar circumstances.

Zero crossed the huge lobby from the theatre and headed towards the cashiers, changing some of the cash Kaname had given him tonight. He turned then towards the gambling area and inhaled deeply. He was a little nervous. He'd never been anywhere like this by himself and he was carrying a small fortune – to him – in chips. His fantasy was faltering.

"Oooppps! Oh my God! I am so sorry! Oh no!"

Zero stood in a daze as two thousand dollars in chips scattered onto the floor. This wasn't happening...

"Hey! I saw that! Put that back! Hey, wake up! Hey! Do you speak English?"

Zero came out of it and stooped to scoop up the chips quickly, tossing them into his little carrying crate. The woman was also dropping them inside, smiling apologetically as she crawled on her knees to chase a 100 that had lodged itself next to a potted palm. Zero looked up and caught a glimpse of stocking under her short dress and not much else... He zoned out again.

"I think that's it. Count them. How much did you have?"

"I think it's mostly there. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Sorry about that though. I wasn't looking where I was going..."

"That's okay. I understand. Don't worry about it."

The woman sat back on her calves and smiled. He was stunning. The hair colour was peculiar but it only highlighted his pale grey eyes and porcelain skin. This, his shy manner and softly accented English had her liking him immediately.

"Hi. I'm Carla." She said, stretching out her hand.

"Kir... Zero. Pleased to meet you." Zero took the slightly middle aged brunette's hand and shook it. He liked her eyes. They were kindly.

"Zero? You should play that at roulette. Could be your lucky number."

"Yes..." Zero wondered if he would even find it. The place was huge...

Carla saw this.

"Come on. You can come with me. I'm alone anyway. My husband is at a rock concert at the moment. You'd think he was sixteen again," Carla shook her head in affectionate disgust and a tinge of bitterness, "We can go together."

Zero hesitated again but smiled broadly, making Carla wish she was at least in her twenties. He stood and bowed offering his hand to her to help her up and Carla took that as a yes.

"Alright. First we'll go by the slot machines. You see I have a system..."

"**WHO** is this bitch?"

"I don't know. You didn't send her?"

"Christ! He was supposed to be alone!"

"No problem. It's probably just one old whore. Vegas can be a dangerous place."

"... Fine. Fine! I hate this but we have to keep to schedule. Don't forget. Three a.m..."

"Sure thing. Later."

**THEY** piled into the car laughing and giggling. Zero was having a great time playing heir about town. He squashed the fear he felt about lying like that. Kaname didn't know where he was and besides, he was busy. Zero's name was on the black credit cards. Besides, they were having a lot of luck and fun. Carla scooted over in the back seat and pulled out the envelope to count her winnings. She had bet smaller and with more care than Zero but she still had a good haul.

"I am so glad I met you! Wayne will be so jealous when he hears this!"

"No, it was you. Thanks again. Where to next? Ceasar's?"

"Let's get something to eat first. I'm starving. What do you say?"

"Sure! I'm hungry as well. I saw a restaurant inside..."

"No! I know just the place. Small but intimate and the food's great. Do you like Italian?" Carla said fingering her neck-line in a serious implication that she wasn't just talking about the food. She didn't know why she was flirting with him, except that he always responded, his eyes flitting to her neckline. She felt young. Desirable...

"Well I like pizza..."

Carla scoffed and leaned forward to the taxi driver.

"Keep east on Flamingo until I say," Carla ordered, then turned back to frown at Zero in mock severity. "Pizza?! I can't leave you like this. It's a travesty."

**KANAME** took his final bows and left the stage, the smile immediately leaving his face. He could sense that Zero was not back yet. He tried not to worry. He was a vampire. He was strong enough to survive most things and he was smart enough to not go anywhere dangerous and he knew how to handle himself... Still Kaname felt an overwhelming sense of unease. He was overly protective he knew. He hated the idea of something happening to remove Zero from his life. Despite the challenges, Kaname was the happiest he remembered being in a long time and he didn't look forward to anything anymore like seeing Zero's face, touching Zero's body, seeing his smile... Where was he? Kaname decided to go look to see if he was safe. Just a small peek...

"Mr. Ken? There is someone here asking for you..."

"Not now. I'll be back in a few..."

"Ken! It's so good to see you again!"

"Commissioner! What a surprise!" Kaname replied, turning on the charm, squashing his irritation.

"Not anymore. I'm retired. I'm just plain Wayne now." The large burly man said with a wink. Kaname smiled politely.

"Fine. Wayne. Carla here with you?"

"Yes and No. I tried looking for Carla so she could see you... "

"That's alright Wayne. I don't think she'll ever forgive me for divorcing Seiren. If looks could kill..."

Wayne laughed, leaning back to give himself over to it.

"That's true. But Carla is young. I understand when you are your age you make mistakes. I suppose you need a little more time before you truly settle down. I thought you both were too young myself, even if you were both in love, but I did marry her mother fresh outta high school..."

"I know, Wayne. You told me."

"Well, I don't regret Seiren. But sometimes I wished I had done things differently. I can respect you wanting your chance..."

"Wayne. I have to go..." Kaname interrupted, trying not to squirm uncomfortably as old wounds were picked over.

"Alright. The busy life of celebrities. It's good to see you again. I still am waiting for that 'All or Nothing' chess rematch..."

"You're on. Tell Carla 'Hi' for me."

"I will. Don't be a stranger."

Kaname shook Wayne's outstretched hand and smiled genuinely at the man he had called "Dad" for three months and four days. He had liked him very much. He still did. But they both new it could never be the same. Kaname turned to go, his eyes still holding the look of past regrets... then stiffened at the faint noise of a piercing scream. He turned back uncertainly listening, as everyone around him continued as nothing happened. It wasn't unusual for him to hear screams, considering his acute hearing. Kaname normally ignored them, otherwise he would go crazy. But this one... was familiar...

"_Zero!! Nooo!! Please! Take the cash, don't..."_

Kaname pushed aside the his former father-in-law and dashed for the exit, almost forgetting to slow down a little, but once outside he ran full out across the street and scaled the hotel before becoming airborne, his senses already attuned to Zero. That was Carla. He'd know that cultured, grating yell anywhere.

**ZERO** tried to stand but fell onto his knees, the pain too much to bear. There was a hole in his chest that burned like acid on Sunday. But he had to get up. Carla...

"Come on! Just take the money! You don't have to...!!"

"Shut up you, bitch!"

A loud slap echoed in the empty lot, and Carla fell to one side, sobbing. Zero gritted his teeth, furious with himself. _Get up and protect her! Get up!_

"No! ...Stop!"

"He's still moving."

"I can see that. But we can't kill him. Load him in the trunk."

"Me?"

"I gotta cover you." He said licking his lips. When his partner was gone, he and the whore were going to have some fun. There was a reason he was listening to all this screaming, besides the fact he liked it...

His partner walked forth hesitantly and kicked Zero in the chest. Zero gasped and coughed, as his entire body seemed to light up in pain.

"Get up. Into the back."

"Screw... you..."

Zero couldn't understand what was happening. Why him?

"If this... is about... a ransom..."

"Shut up and get in the fucking trunk!!"

"Pick him up."

"What if he bites me? I don't want to be a..."

"You idiot...!" The other yelled to cut him off, before he said to too much.

Zero turned paler, if that was possible. He rolled over and took a good look at the two people. The "cab driver" had his cap pulled low but he could see the fear. They... knew...

"If you know... what I am... you know he... won't like this. He'll kill you..."

"Shut up!" The man kicked him again.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." The other forgot about his pleasures with the woman, with some reluctance, as the tone of this conversation got a heck of a lot more disturbing. He ran over and shot Carla in the chest and came over to help lift Zero into the trunk.

"No!! Nooo!! Carla!!!"

"Missing the old whore are we? Shut up before I..."

Zero found himself looking at thin air. But it was strange because his jacket was still being held by a hand...

"Noooo!!! Nooooo!! AAAAHHHH!"

The "cab driver" dropped Zero's legs and ran way to the other car at his partner's terrified screams. He got in, only to find the car was no longer touching the ground. He screamed in an unholy fashion.

Zero watched at the car drifted over to a dark figure and the car-door peeled open. Zero's chest felt heavier as he tried to breathe. He finally processed that Kaname was here and began to crawl towards Carla. He hoped she wasn't dead. He hoped he could at least save her life.

"Kaname!!" Zero yelled as best he could in the suffocating atmosphere and pain.

Kaname lifted his head from the limp body's neck and looked over to Zero. He walked over carrying the body in one hand like it was a satchel.

"Zero. Stop lying there and let's..."

"Carla! She needs a doctor!"

Kaname dumped the body and dropped to his knees beside his former stepmother-in-law and Zero who was listening to her chest. She eyes stared up in a frantic appeal and her breaths hitched painfully.

"She's still alive, Kaname. Please..."

"It's too late. She's not going to make it."

"You haven't even tried! You could get her to the hospital in no time."

"Her heart is shredded. It's leaking blood into his chest. Her lungs are filling with blood. She won't live even if I get her to a hospital."

"Dammit, Kaname!! You heartless...!!"

Kaname pushed Zero over and surveyed his chest. Satisfied that he wasn't in immediate danger, his eyes returned to Carla. He picked up her hand. Carla seemed to finally see him. She jerked reflexively as she saw his gore filled face, the fear exuding from her eyes but then...

"Kaname. It's y..."

"Yes. But don't speak. You are too weak. Just look into my eyes. Your pain is going away. See how good you feel? How light?"

"Yes... Wayne...went to see you..."

"I saw him. You take very good care of him. He looks younger than I do."

"Good food... and love. I love him so much..."

"I know. He does too. But I'll tell him. I promise. Now go to sleep. You feel tired now, don't you? Very sleepy?"

"Yes..."

"Then you should sleep. When you wake up you will be in his arms. Seiren will be there too."

"Okay. I don't ...want them... to worry. Tell them... I'll be okay..."

Kaname waited a while longer and stood, placing her hand back onto her chest, straightening her dress. He walked over to Zero who was staring at him like he had another head.

"Let me see your wounds."

"You knew her?"

"...Yes." Kaname didn't elaborate, "I smell silver. I need to get you into a bath to wash the wounds. Let's go."

"We can't leave her..."

"Yes, we can. She is no longer here, Zero. Carla isn't here anymore."

"**WHERE** the hell are you? The plane's almost ready!"

"I'm sorry, I got lost. Can you give me directions?"

"What? Who's this?"

"A friend. I am delivering the package but I can't reach Mayers."

"You... I don't know you."

"Do you want the goods or not?"

The phone line went dead, and Kaname sighed. He supposed it shouldn't have worked so easily. The man did say plane and there was a propeller noise in the background, but very few other noises. Which meant he was not at a commercial airport. Which put him... anywhere in this desert. But those men would have had to have been there in an hour as this man had said they were late, therefore it was within a hundred miles of that place. Still, a needle in a haystack. But if he left now he could catch the plane as it took off...

"Kaname. Oh God..."

Kaname turned away from the plate glass window and walked to Zero's side. He sat on the bed and stroked his hair, still successfully keeping all-out panic at bay. He needed to think. He needed to save Zero.

"It hurts like hell. Kaname..."

"I know. I'm trying to track them down. I have to leave..."

"No! Don't leave me. I don't want to be alone when..."

"Zero, I have to go and find them. Once I do I can find out what they shot you with. Then you will be fine. I can't waste anymore time."

"Don't lie to me. Don't..."

"I swear to you I won't let you die." Kaname ground out, his voice finally cracking. He stood and headed for the door. He wondered if he should put Zero to sleep. But he hated his letting this thing gain a hold and he wanted Zero to answer when he called. He decided against it. He reached for the door knob and was arrested by the cell ringing in the other room. Mayers' cell. He hesitated then zipped back to answer it.

"Hello."

"Two rounds are missing from our man's gun. I don't suppose you know where the other one is?"

Kaname got over his surprise at hearing Japanese spoken to him quickly as he began to see all shades of red as held the telephone to his ear. The person knew very well what he wanted. Zero began to moan again and Kaname took a deep breath.

"What do you want?" Kaname asked heading for the door.

The woman chuckled and paused dramatically knowing time was of the essence to him. Kaname barely held back a feral snarl.

"You, of course. It was all an elaborate gambit to have you come to us. But I see a few things backfired and new opportunities surfaced. For instance, I am told by a very reliable source that your little toy will die a very painful death if he doesn't receive the antidote. I have it. That said antidote."

"Are you on this plane waiting, as well?" Kaname was already outside the casino, running to a dark place to escape notice. His voice never changed.

"Oh no. I used expendable local boys for that operation. You'll never find me unless I allow it."

"Don't count on it." Kaname said coldly, flying towards the vacant lot, keeping his eyes peeled. The lady chuckled again.

"You are travelling very fast. Looking for us? So much effort. I called to tell you how you can get here you know. You didn't give me a chance..."

Kaname decided this one would die over _several_ days of torture.

"How?"

"The plane is off the old trucking lane at the --- Golf Club. Feel free to bring Zero too. Don't take more than half hour. The window of opportunity will close."

"...Alright."

"I knew you would be amenable. See you soon. Oh and, Ken?"

Kaname didn't answer. She chuckled at his anger, quite enjoying herself.

"I want you to think about how Hiou Sadao died."

The cell disconnected and Kaname resisted the urge to crush it. He spun and flew back quickly, hating being manipulated like this thoroughly. But, he had no choice...

_to be continued_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters – well except the ones I made up of course. They belong to VK!!!_


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_by lightpathetic_

"**YOU'RE** insane, Shizuka. Completely insane."

"It's a good thing for you that you are useful to me. I don't tolerate anyone talking to me like that."

"There are no guarantees that he can be contained. You shouldn't toy with him, regardless of how much you want him to suffer."

"What are you saying? Have you forgotten the pain he has caused so easily? Perhaps you aren't up to the task? Go home then. I am perfectly capable of taking care of this myself..."

The masked man grabbed Shizuka by the arm she shook dismissively, arresting her none too gently. Using his free hand, he tugged off the mask that obscured half of his face. Shizuka didn't flinch as she saw the cruel diagonal scars that ruined the right side of the otherwise handsome face. She had seen them too many times before. She had seen them when they were far worse.

"The hell I am leaving. I won't rest until I see that monster dead at my feet and my brother freed. But I will never forgive you if your mischievousness gets in the way of that."

"Don't worry. I have it all under control. We will have our vengeance."

**KANAME** opened the door to the bathroom and immediately went to pick Zero off the floor next to the toilet bowl. Zero moaned but didn't fight as he was hauled up into tender arms and carried to the bed. He felt worse. His body was burning up and he was becoming delirious. Things were on his skin. Crawling. Little black things with red eyes...

"Zero..."

"Get away! Oh God, Kaname they're all over me..."

"There's nothing on you Zero. I am going to dress you now. They will go away soon."

"No. They won't. They've come to get me. They've finally come..."

"Zero. Pull yourself together and help me. We are going out. They have the antidote. You'll be fine again. Soon."

"Who has it?" Zero asked stupidly, then it dawned. "You're crazy! You're going to give yourself up? To them?"

"Zero, hold up your arms..."

"You're nuts! How do you even know they have it?"

"I don't. But I can't take the chance..."

"Yes you can!"

Zero pushed away Kaname's hands and tried to stand but was held down easily. Kaname, with almost bruising force, grabbed one of his arms and thrust it into a sleeve, even as Zero tried to fight him off.

"Zero. Stop it. Stop it! Dammit, I hate doing this to you...!"

"Don't you dare shut me up. You need to hear this. What if it's a trap?"

"I've told you. I don't kill easily. If they have the antidote, we'll take it and go."

"You think it's that simple? They obviously know you're a vampire! Don't you think they have planned for you?"

Zero removed his arm from the sleeve and Kaname growled. He didn't have much time. The sun was coming up and the woman had said to hurry.

"Zero, if you don't cooperate I am going to take over. I know you hate it, but I can't give in to you on this. I can't compromise with your life."

"That's what I'm trying to say! You should! There are billions of potential me's out there but you are the last one. You die and that's it. There was a time I wasn't all that weepy at the prospect..."

"Zero..."

"Kaname. Don't do this! Let me die! Walk away now and don't look back. Save yourself. Make another vampire, maybe a female and have lots of little..."

Zero slumped over and Kaname straightened him on the bed, continuing to gently but quickly dress him. He stood and carried him to the door and then away, down the back stairs to the brightening lot before taking off into the air. Kaname concentrated on this to the exclusion of all else. He had considered what Zero had said. For a moment. He knew he should walk away. He knew but... He wanted Zero. If there was a chance of saving him he would take it no matter how slim. What would be the point of living on if Zero died?

**KANAME** walked slowly towards the plane, his senses searching all around them. There was one pilot and a small Cessna waiting on the deserted golf course. He smelled nothing and he heard nothing else amiss. As he approached, a small man disembarked and ran out to meet him.

"Hey! Hey there! Are you Ken?"

"Don't come any closer," Kaname barked, arresting the man immediately in his tracks. The smiling face fell.

"Oh, sorry. I was waiting so long for you. My wife told me not to take this job..."

"Who sent you?" Kaname asked. He stopped in front of the door and pulled it, placing Zero gently inside after some inspection.

"I don't know. I was told to come here to pick up someone. No questions. I'd said no, but then they threw an envelope of cash on the table. It was enough to pay off the bank and some..." the man halted uncertainly, aware belatedly he was babbling to a stranger, but it helped his cause since Kaname realised the man's sin wasn't much more than being stupid and greedy.

"Get in and let's go. I'm in a hurry."

"Yes, sir. Are you...? Well I guess you are if you're out here like this..."

"And don't speak anymore," Kaname demanded quietly, but looking up at the silly man.

"N...," he began but on seeing Kaname's eyes decided to nod instead. Probably the first smart thing he'd done in his life.

**KANAME'S** mood didn't get any better as they flew east, into the rising sun. He was still wearing his contacts for the set lighting but they were never enough for the direct sunlight, which in the desert was many times worse. No clouds, no trees, no reprieve. He closed his eyes at intervals as he did his best to turn away, mostly burying his face into Zero's neck. It reminded him of two things: Zero's fading pulse and how hungry he was. He had exerted a lot of energy last night and he had let Zero feed in an attempt to heal him which didn't work. He couldn't sip from Zero because of the poisoning, which left the pilot, and he supposed he had better wait until he had taken them to where he was going. Kaname nuzzled Zero's sleeping form and found being there was comforting and relaxing. He wasn't even aware when his body's natural rhythms took over and he began to sleep.

**KANAME** came awake as the plane banked and threw him sideways. He "steadied" himself and gave the pilot a look of warning.

"Sorry. We are coming in to land," The pilot offered by way of explanation. It was hard to miss the relief in his voice. This passenger gave him the creeps. Kaname looked down to see a long track and a lonely cement building to the side of it. Kaname couldn't hear anything over the engines, or smell anything over the fuel fumes. Therefore he killed the engine.

"What? What the...!" The pilot gasped, instantly checking his gauges in disbelief, failing to notice the plane was no longer in his control. He twisted the key and began to swear at "Thelma" with something akin to grim determination. A hand grabbed his hair...

_THUD THUD THUD!_

The pilot screamed as holes appeared in the roof of the aircraft and the hand in his head tightened. But soon it relaxed and fell away. The pilot didn't even look behind him. He grabbed his parachute and kicked open the door, jumping clear of the alarmingly quiet aircraft. He only looked back once to see where it had stabbed the landscape, many yards east of the dirt trail.

**KANAME** came to and tried to lift his head. But he couldn't. He was shackled into some kind of contraption. He pulled at his bonds and grimaced as his hands shook the chains weakly. He tried to swallow, but his throat was so dry. Somehow he could stand the pain in his body more than his thirst. Kaname opened his mouth and hissed as his eyes opened and surveyed around him, already looking for a food source.

"He's awake."

"Don't go near him. Call the others."

Kaname was aware of footsteps but he couldn't follow them. His head was trapped. He looked down to see a tile. A dirty green colour, the grooves of which were stained to a dark contrast. He could see a drain near him and his eyes followed greedily the crimson trickle that he just knew was blood. From the way he was feeling he feared it was his.

A door opened behind him somewhere and Kaname heard several footsteps as many people approached him. He tried to "break apart" the apparatus holding him but he couldn't. He was too weak. His powers wouldn't work. Kaname closed his eyes.

"I thought you said he was awake?"

"He was. He is..."

"Hey, 'Kaname'. _Vampire!_ You awake?"

That voice. The woman. Kaname pried himself away from his own personal problems to think of some others. Including...

"Ze...ro..."

The group gasped in awe as the corpse spoke. They had witnessed the draining of his blood themselves. No-one should have survived that. No-one...

"My God, it's true!"

"I told you. I told you." The woman insisted.

Kaname moaned in pain as the scent of the people teased his nostrils. His fangs were already fully grown in preparation for what he could never get. He shook the equipment alarmingly though as his concerns went unanswered.

"Zero!" He growled, the chains swinging. The group hushed immediately.

"Shut up, you scum. You are in no position to make demands. What are you on about? Your toy? You are lucky we didn't kill you for that alone."

"_I_s Hiou-san awake as yet?"

"Yes. I heard him on the way here. He was bellowing this creature's name..."

Kaname began to tug at his bonds in earnest. He refused to just stay here when Zero could be dying...

The woman with pale blond hair took a gun and shot him in the shoulder. Kaname screamed in agony.

"They don't have to be silver bullets to cause you pain. Your body is too weak to regenerate quickly. Too weak to help itself. You had better be quiet before I lose my temper and become more serious."

"What are you keeping him for? Why don't you kill him?" One of the group asked.

"In good time. Go and bring my nephew," Shizuka ordered, looking at some guards.

Kaname subsided again, his breaths coming in long agonised pants. He felt despair threatening to swallow him whole. Where was Zero? He tried to use his senses but he couldn't concentrate above the pain. Kaname closed his eyes in defeat. He hoped death came quickly.

"Let me go! Kaname!"

Footsteps headed towards him and stopped in front of him, but Kaname knew before he opened his eyes that it was...

"Zero... Zero..." Kaname moaned his eyes filling with tears. He was alive!

Zero dropped to his knees and held Kaname's head, stroking his hair.

"This is so touching. Really it is. Do you have a handkerchief?" Shizuka asked the masked figure next to her.

"Don't kill him. I'll do whatever you want, Aunt. I'm begging you..." Zero got to his feet and stood between the group of heavily armed gangsters and the shrivelled, snivelling, pathetic creature behind him. He forced a determination into his stance he didn't feel. An authority he had long ago given up. He heard Kaname gasp behind him but he ignored it. He had no right to judge him...

"_Now_ you call me 'Aunt'? Now that you want something? You disowned us remember? Changed your name. Became a good, law abiding conformist. You have no right to ask me anything...!"

"I have every right!" Zero yelled, stalking forward, the old pain coming to the fore, shining in his eyes, his hands going up to tug the multiple piercings in his ears as evidence, "I helped you get where you are! I helped you to hold on to my father's legacy! The blood of our rivals is on my hands! You owe me!"

"Zero, shut up! Have some dignity! This creature isn't human! You are begging for the life of a beast! Do you know how many of us he has killed?"

"I know. But how many have we killed? He kills the guilty. Can you say the same for us?"

"Zero, I knew I should have put you out of your misery. Your father would be ashamed of you...!"

"The hell with my father!" Zero growled, his eyes flashing in anger. "I have avenged his death. That is the extent of my obligation to him. He chose his path and now I choose mine...!"

"With this creature? Are you serious?" The masked form beside Shizuka finally asked, raising his eyes to Zero for the first time. Zero looked away. He still had trouble looking at him...

"He's not a monster. Don't call him that..."

"He is. But maybe you are so brain-washed you don't see it. Maybe his dick is really that good..."

Zero ran forward and tackled the masked figure, his hands going to his throat, his eyes glinting with deadly intentions. Guards ran forward to part them but Shizuka held up her hand to stop them. Finally the figure beneath Zero pulled his gun and shot Zero in the stomach...

"AAAHHHH! Shit!"

Zero rolled off and the figure rolled onto him holding the gun to his head, leaving his mask on the dirty green tile.

"You've gotten soft, Zero. The old Zero would have done the job right."

"Don't speak to me of him, Ichiru. He died years ago. I am ashamed of him. I am ashamed of you!"

Ichiru's eyes narrowed, at Zero's words, his fingers squeezing the trigger. But then he got to his feet. He turned towards the naked vampire before them who looked wide eyed at the two of them. As if he saw a ghost...

"You remember, don't you? I bet you do. I bet you remember leaving your marks on me," Ichiru sneered as he kicked his brother in the stomach. Zero cried out and clutched his bleeding stomach. He didn't see the look Kaname was giving them. The pain and fear that had nothing to do with the situation he was in. He pulled at his manacled hands again as he tried desperately to make him stop. _Don't please, not the one thing on this earth..._

Ichiru smiled dangerously and knelt to his brother. He tugged him up to a seat facing the shackled beast.

"I never told you, brother. Shizuka insisted. 'Don't tell anyone, they won't believe you.' Ha! For a while I didn't believe it myself, what I saw. I thought it was a nightmare I had invented to cope with the reality. But then you got careless, vampire. You let people see you..."

"Stop! Just kill me! You don't have to waste any more time..." Kaname rasped his eyes watching Zero's face. Zero's eyes were still closed, his breathing uneven in his pain. He wasn't listening. Not yet.

"Let me finish. Zero came home later. He wasn't there. Everyone was relieved Zero was spared. The future of the Hiou rule was assured. Then he leaves. Isn't that funny? Then he deserts us."

"Ichiru..."

"Be quiet! I'm speaking. It's time he found out. About the red-eyed demon that's been haunting my dreams since I was eleven. The tall figure with dark hair and pale skin, with teeth as long a tiger's..."

"No... You're lying! You said it was an army of men! You said..."

"I said what was believable. I couldn't say one man defeated our bodyguards and shredded them before my eyes. I couldn't say he fed on... on my parents like cattle..."

"No! You're lying! You are lying!"

Zero began to fight again and Ichiru released him and stood. The smug expression returned as he looked down on his brother.

"Look at the little favourite now. Sleeping with the creature that killed your parents and left me for dead. We have videos you know. We all know how much you like it up the ass by this monster."

"Nooooo! It's not true! Kaname...? Kaname, tell me it isn't true!"

Kaname was lost. Zero's tears stung him like fine razors. The night came back to him, his memory of the frantic boy who had returned just after he had left, who had run around the grounds with a gun that was almost too big for him, yelling for "them" to come out and fight like men. He had almost gone back to finish him off. But he'd liked the kid. Had decided to spare him for another time. He hadn't thought it was the same one...

"Kaname..."

Ichiru saw his work was done and walked away twirling his gun happily.

"If you're finished Ichiru..." Shizuka finally ventured, the tense atmosphere having robbed all of them of their speech. She turned away from the creature whose eyes, the look, was almost destroying her resolve. If anything could epitomize despair...

"Kill him. Remove his limbs slowly. Sadao's arms hung from his shoulders by bits of flesh as they carried him out. I want to see that. I want to see _pain_."

Zero watched as the men approached Kaname slowly, warily. Almost too afraid to carry out the order in case he got free. He was dangerous. He _was_ dangerous...

"_I love you. I'm in love with you."_

"_You belong in the sun. You are glowing."_

"_Look at what you do to me. You rob me of any will to be apart from you."_

"_I promise I will never leave you Zero. I promise, despite everything I will always appear at your side. Always."_

_Stop it_, Zero yelled to himself as he sat transfixed by Kaname's stare, _he killed your parents! He ruined your life! He made you suffer like nothing else...!_ Yet Zero's mind kept betraying him. It kept going over the good times. It kept making him see Kaname for what he was. Beautiful...

"You lied to me. You both did. You told me it was Fujii and his men. You told me he did it to claim the leadership. You made me kill all those people..."

"_Please!_" Shizuka scoffed, not even bothering to face her naive nephew. "Is that what you're telling yourself, Zero? No-one made you kill. You made yourself kill. You wanted an outlet for your pain and your need for revenge and I gave you one. I never held a gun to your head. You went off and excelled yourself and everyone here. It was when you had realised what you had become that you decided to disappear! That you decided to leave your family!"

Zero realised his stomach no longer hurt and he stood. It had been an ordinary bullet. They were so sure he was on their side. So sure he wouldn't turn on them and that Kaname was immobilised. He considered his options carefully.

"You manipulated me."

"Do you want me to cry? What are you waiting! Kill him!" Shizuka screamed at her hesitant lackeys.

"Wait. I'll do it. I want to. Hand me the sword."

Zero walked over confidently and took the sword from the man nearest him. Then... he pushed him onto Kaname's mouth.

"What? What are you doing? Zero!" Shizuka screamed, as the chaos broke out around her.

"I'm afraid I've already claimed Kaname as my prey. You can't have him. But don't worry. He won't kill you. _I_ will."

**ZERO** walked into the music room carrying a tray of French toast and orange juice, next to a tureen of coffee. Kaname sat at the piano, his face contorted as he tried to come up with a melody for some lyrics he had written earlier. Zero approached and placed the tray next to him on a small table he had put next to him for that purpose, because Kaname had been known to spend all day there.

"Time to eat."

"I'm not hungry. This god-damned song! I'm going to put it in the shredder!"

"You say that all the time. I never thought you could become so clichéd."

"I mean it! The melody is driving me crazy...!"

"Maybe you are hungry..."

"I'm not...!"

Zero came to stand behind Kaname and pulled back his head, roughly. He dipped and kissed him deeply, his tongue delving insistently into his mouth. Kaname moaned and reached up to hold Zero's head as he sucked on the bleeding tongue. He pulled Zero onto his lap and dragged away his collar before licking his neck. Zero shivered as Kaname's rough tongue promised a brutal bite.

"I knew it. You're always cranky when you're starving."

"I wouldn't be starving if you hadn't had insisted on being 'flown' to the beach..."

"I just mentioned it in passing because if the moon! You were the one that dropped everything and hauled me to the window! Don't put words in my mouth."

"I can't help myself. I have so much to make up for. I only want you to be happy..." Kaname replied, lifting his head to look Zero in his eyes, trying to convey, as he did every day, his pain, his gratitude...

"I know Kaname. I know... Anyway it was wonderful, admit it. I thanked you if I remember..."

"Mmmm...." Kaname moaned, remembering how as he sank his teeth into Zero's flesh, his hands sliding around him to hold his close, one dipping low to cup Zero's devastating behind. Zero chuckled and sighed.

"I hope you love me for more than my ass, Kaname. I've never seen anyone more obsessed..."

"Of course I do." Kaname lifted his head to reply hastily, "I also love the way you taste. Without those two attributes you are basically useless."

"Moron..." Zero leaned in and kissed Kaname on his nose, then lower to his mouth, cleaning the blood on his lips. Kaname suffered the caress for a while, just to please Zero, before angling for his neck again. He wasn't finished. Zero closed his eyes and relaxed. He liked these moments. Feeding Kaname. His... love...

Zero yelped as he ended up on the floor.

"Kaname!"

"I just want to indulge in my other obsession," Kaname teased as he began to pull at Zero's clothes.

"What about the song? And breakfa...aahhhhh?"

Zero stopped talking. Then only his moans and the Kaname's gentle suckling noises disturbed the night.

"**AUDIENCE** what do you think of that?" Tyra asked, pouting a little as a hint to how the audience should think.

A round of "Boo's" echoed around the room. Kaname's beautiful eyes opened wide in mock chagrin but Zero could tell he was enjoying himself.

"This is him, here? Is this Zero? Stand up, please, let the audience look at you. Wow, that's a fine man if I do say so myself. Nice ass..."

"Um, thank you." Kaname muttered as Zero sat abruptly, glowering at the cameraman in his face.

"So what does he think of your sex addiction?"

"Well he likes it." Another round of 'boo's'. "Of course, if I hadn't filmed us and left it carelessly around the hotel, no-one else would have known about it..."

"So you admit you were responsible for the video."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Zero. I was watching it and I left it on to go to the studio..."

"You can't get good help these days. Some people should be ashamed of themselves."

More applause for the sage wisdom from Tyra's lips.

"...Indeed. So, now you all know that I'm in love, with Zero. It's not sordid. It was a tape for just my 'amusement' and it got leaked out..."

"You know that is how it always starts. Britney, Paris, now you. When will it end? Listen people, if you have to film it, lock it up. For God sake, who needs these scandals? Does Zero forgive you?"

"No. But he still loves me."

A chorus of "awww's" broke out at Tyra's puppy-dog face.

"Alright! Hold that note! Next on 'Celebrities With Sex Tapes and Sex Addictions' we have Matt Damon! Don't touch that remote!"

_The End_

_lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to "Vampire Knight"._

_Crack ending! LOL. But it's a happy one. I thought of it before I realised it was just like "A History of Violence" but I'll mention it here to say thank you if I did subconsciously get inspired and please don't sue me as I am making no money off of this. _

_Thanks to everyone who supported this effort. Please don't let the ending make you hate it. Just look back on the good times. _

_Alright! On to APFU and my long suffering fans..._


End file.
